Follow the Sun Excerpts in Time
by WiccadBaltane0501
Summary: *Sequel to Follow the Sun* After such a sudden and surprising start to the friendship between Gaara and Sakura during her time stranded in the desert, they both find themselves wondering what will transpire the next time they cross paths. Only time will tell, and time has a way of bringing them together.
1. Installment 1 (1)

Here we are! The continuation of Follow the Sun! I am so glad that I received such positive feedback for the beginning of this series and that so many of you were looking forward to reading more about the development of the timeline I started. It's been wonderful to hear from you all, the compliments, the criticisms, and all the advice I received will go into making my next projects better and more entertaining for readers. (And then some of you guys had to go ahead and read my other works…not gonna lie, kind of embarrassing…they were written so, so long ago…)

This particular work will be set up slightly different than Follow the Sun, as in that the chapters themselves will be their own little stories. They will be longer than the chapters in my previous work, and therefore they will be uploaded with a little more time in between installments. I am not abandoning this story, so if it's been a while since my last upload I apologize in advance, but I know you'll appreciate the product of time well spent making sure that what I _do_ upload is the best that I can.

To sort some things out, the timeline of this continuation will not follow the exact timelines of the canon series, obviously, and with a little creative liberty, I hope it will flow nicely and keep the pace you all said you loved so much. I would love to continue to get feedback and advice from the literary community and further my skills in storytelling, and it's you guys that make all that possible. I am very thankful to have readers that take the time to comment on what they liked, didn't like, would like to see more of or less of, and give their honest opinion on how they enjoyed the chapters and the story overall. As writers, we are here to turn our passions and visions into something that can be enjoyed and can entertain the masses, a wonderful community of creativity, and I look forward to continuing as part of that community.

So, without further ado, let us begin Follow the Sun, Excerpts of Time.

Follow the Sun, Excerpts of Time

Installment 1; Part 1:

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

There was a chill in the forest, with a fine mist filling the gaps between trees and becoming brilliantly lit from the rising sun. The air, fresh and crisp, carried the tweets and chirps of early morning songbirds, the whistles and clicks of insects, and the perpetual smell of dirt, rainwater, and the endless bloom of the forest. It was morning in the fire country, the sun was warming the air from the cold night, always becoming colder as the deadly grip of the turning seasons began to wash over the land.

Sakura hugged her arms around her chest, the hairs on her skin standing on end in protest of the brisk morning, and took a moment to shiver the chill from her bones. Looking up to the trees, where the vibrant leaves shook in the soft breeze, colors were already starting to burst through the green foliage. Just a few leaves, the ones closer to the ground and last to get some sun, were tipped with reds and browns. The precursors of fall, a short and drastic shift in the life of the forest from endless abundance to winter hardships in only a few weeks' time. In that time, the trees would overtake the land in colors so brilliantly dramatic, the flowers and fruiting plants would wither and die, and the wind would strip the trees of their colorful beauty, leaving the land barren for the first heavy snow.

But the fall, one of her favorite times of the year, was still a ways away and in a few hours, the rising sun would bring the heat of summer with it, banishing the foggy chill that crept over hills and valleys in the absence of its warmth. She looked to the side, where Naruto and Sasuke walked with Kakashi down their path through the forest.

"How much farther to the rendezvous point?" Naruto asked, stretching his arms above him with a yawn. Not so much because of weariness, but more so out of boredom. Ever since he traveled to the desert, to retrieve Sakura after her disappearance, their assigned missions had been boring and mundane for him. He craved the action and adventure, the thrill of the fight and the victory that always followed, not this leisurely stroll through the woods.

"Not much farther, Naruto. Just be patient," Kakashi answered.

He scoffed, looking to the side with a pouty scowl. "Why do we even need to team up with them for this? We can take the bandits by ourselves."

"That's not the point, Naruto. They pose a threat to the further reaches of both our lands, therefore; we take on the threat together."

It was Sasuke who then joined Naruto in the sourness of his mood, unhappy to have to take backup, he too thought that the four of them were more than enough for some country thugs. "Sounds like some hippy bullshit."

"And that will be enough of _that_ ," Kakashi scolded without skipping a beat. "Just behave, all right?"

Sakura shook her head and turned her attention back to the trail.

Once she had returned home from the desert, she had been rather overwhelmed. The intense worry of her parents was one thing to deal with, the worry of her mentor was another, and all the opinionated gossip she heard floating around town was another thing entirely. Word got around fast, and it was an enticing topic when it pertained to their very own kin and a monstrous family from a once allied nation. Many were very much against trying to rebuild ties to the people of Wind country, all with good reason that no one denied, and this stigma had made its way back to her on more than one occasion. She cared not to think of those confrontations, mainly random strangers stopping her on the street for a good cussing before storming off in a huff, leaving her shocked and altogether confused. Kakashi and Tsunade were always a good deterrent when they were present, but it didn't stop the accusations and the rumored banter entirely.

It was just fear, she knew that, and people always reacted very strongly to fear. Sakura assumed that perhaps they thought they now had a spy in their midst, or maybe that she had been a traitor all along. Always the spark of suspicion but never enough to truly catch fire, the worst she'd had to deal with was getting kicked out of a restaurant. She'd nearly laughed at the woman, thinking it all a joke until the genuine anger in her eyes proved otherwise.

But, as time progressed and the wounds of the past healed bit by bit, people had paid less and less attention to her, no longer the social pariah, and she had been able to slip back into the woodwork as unnoticed as she had once been. There were other things to talk about now, other scandals to discuss.

"Well, fine!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing an open gesture to the empty trees. "But if we have to work together than there's no way I'm coming in second!"

Sakura paused, her brow pulling together as she glanced over at him. "Naruto," she began. "I don't think that's what Kakashi had in mind."

He seemed to not hear her, fueled by Sasuke's agreeance with his opinionated ideas, and continued on as if she had said nothing. "They can butt in on our missions if they want, but we'll be the ones taking care of this, no doubt."

"Naruto, please," Sakura continued, about to retort his closeminded view of their joint mission, but paused, a strange feeling overcoming her. Softly, barely noticeable even to her, a sudden pressure seemed to lap over the forest floor, like standing at the end of a beach with her feet in the gentle ebb and flow of the tide.

A signature…human, and powerful.

Sakura looked at the ground, noise falling away as she focused on that feeling, her heart flipping in her chest at the possibilities. They were miles away from any township or village in the area and there were no scheduled scouts to come through here while they ran their mission, keeping possible casualties to a minimum. Could there have been leaked information? Did the bandits hear of the planned attack on their safe house? They could have been coming down the trail to meet this threat to their operation head on. But that didn't make sense, any bandit with half a mind wouldn't just come straight for them in the early hours of the morning, it would be ludicrous.

She looked up to the group walking ahead of her, falling a little behind as she focused on the enigmatic pulse slithering through the trees, and took a breath to speak her findings. She spoke no words, however, and locked her lips shut within an instant as a sudden realization hit her.

She knew this feeling. She'd felt it before…much closer, and more powerfully than this faint buzzing in the back of her mind.

Her worry left her in an instant, replaced with a strange eagerness that bubbled up from some unknown depths. Sakura now knew who it was that would meet them at the rendezvous point and was pleasantly surprised. It had been weeks since their last encounter, with no word from him sent to the main offices of the tower that she occasionally worked, and none sent to her home either. It had been somewhat of a disappointment for her as if she had subconsciously expected to hear from him within just a few days of her return home, something to help prove that she hadn't spent her time with monsters but with people, just…normal people that offered her help and safety. But word from him, no matter the subject, never came and she began to feel as though she had been forgotten.

It hurt, she was surprised to find, that she had these hopes that were only proved foolish and impossible. She had mostly been expecting something from Temari at least, and perhaps the silence from her had hurt more.

But it was as if that disappointment washed from her mind as she picked up that flow of energy through the trees, and now that she focused on it, she could feel the soft pulses around her neck echoing those she felt through the forest. If anything, _she_ had kept true to her promises, and before she had left for their mission, she'd snatched the glass neckless from her nightstand and tucked it safely under her shirt. It was still her secret after all, and she didn't particularly look forward to the questioning she would suffer when her team inevitably noticed it. She wasn't one for jewelry, especially on the trail, they'd know something was up if she tried to play it off as an accidental article she had forgotten to leave behind.

She hadn't been able to help it, though. Upon hearing that they were teaming up with the wind nation for this mission, her chest had gone tight and she'd be lying if she said that Gaara's wasn't the first face to pop into mind. At first, she thought herself a little foolish, the Wind nation had a plethora of soldiers at their disposal, and to think that they would send one of only a handful that she knew was a bit ridiculous when considering the odds. Plus, Gaara was a scout, at least he had been when she last saw him, and these missions weren't assigned to scouts. Still, just in case those odds somehow worked in her favor, she brought the necklace for good measure.

But that energy was impossible to deny, and she doubted she'd ever forget it, no matter how faintly it greeted her at such great distance.

Sakura fought to keep the grin from her lips, thoughts swirling in her head with possibilities for when they finally crossed paths again, but the blundering banter of her team finally pulled her from her thoughts once again.

"I'll bet you we can beat them to the meeting point!" Naruto exclaimed. "Hell, I bet I can beat all of you!"

Kakashi tried his best to deter this, always trying to keep the childish antics of his student in check. "Naruto just be patient, we'll get there soon enou-"

"Last one there buys me dinner!" he yelled, already kicking dirt with his heels as he raced off down the path. Kakashi merely sighed and picked up his pace a little as he strode after him.

Sakura nearly choked. She'd seen how many bowls of ramen that kid could put away in one sitting, and considering that she still needed to pay for her mentoring – for Tsunade's time and of course the reading material that she had to study – she was sure losing a bet like this would bankrupt her. "Naruto!" she called after him, her feet moving faster in the desperate need to keep her limited finances. "Hey! Wait up!"

With a sigh from Sasuke and an exhausted groan from their teacher, Sakura took off after Naruto. But it wasn't just the fear of hours spent at the ramen hut buying bowl after bowl for her bottomless pit of a teammate that drove her forward, it was also the strengthening of that pulse in the trees pulling at the pendant around her neck. Magnetic, powerful, and undeniable in its influence, she ran toward its epicenter, eager and excited to see her desert savior once again.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

He was surprised to find out that she had kept her silly little promise pertaining to the glass neckless. The terms of their agreement stated that she only needed to wear it if she was ever in _his_ neighborhood and, looking around at the grass-covered dirt and the tall trees that stretched for stories above them, this definitely _wasn't_ his neighborhood.

But she had pulled through nevertheless and it had been a clear giveaway to her team's position relative to his. He'd first felt her a few miles back and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't been looking for that familiar flutter of life. The official mission report given to them had only stated that they were to team up with the leaf for this little outing, not stating names or team numbers on the file, but Gaara knew where such information was kept and he was a master at sneaking around the Kage tower and digging up dirt where he could find it. It didn't take him long to find the original report that held the names and ranks of their partners from the leaf. He'd seen Kakashi's name first and, just to be extra sure, he read the whole report to make sure that Sakura was still on a team with him and would be joining them on this journey.

At first, he was rather pleased with this, after all, he'd been right in his presumptions all those weeks ago when she had left his city for the safety of her homeland; he had indeed missed her. But things weren't as bad as he had thought they'd be after she left. Something about the way she had paraded herself around town at his side and how she'd made such an impression with Temari and her team seemed to soften the people of the city into a weary sort of acceptance. He had noticed that the stares he attracted were less suspicious and frightful and more so curious as the weeks went on. Perhaps they were looking for whatever Sakura had seen to make her so warm to him, hell…he'd been looking for the same damn thing. It wasn't a drastic change, nothing to truly shift the way the city as a whole viewed him, but it was a start, and he would be forever grateful to her for instigating such a movement.

But now, he wasn't so sure that her being here was the greatest idea and there was a part of him that wished it was a different team they were meeting up with. His attention moved from the trail before them to the empty path that lay behind. Well, it certainly _appeared_ empty. They were doing a good job at staying out of range – he would at least give them that bit of praise – but Gaara knew when he was being followed, and it couldn't be written off as the timid two trailing a few paces behind him.

Assassins. Highly trained ANBU fighters that were at the top of their ranking classes, normally reserved for guarding the Kazekage on treks to foreign lands, nameless faces behind masks to hide identity and intent from the world. Likely in response to the slow and steady way that he was building a better report with the citizens and soldiers, the council had turned them on him. This was why the flutter of familiar life now worried rather than soothed him as it once had, knowing that she might be caught in some sort of crossfire, that she might be a target to use against him, or simply that she might see the wickedness he thought her too good for. But there was nothing to do about it now, he could only keep tabs on the squad trailing them through the woods and hope that he could trust his people not to bring unnecessary harm to the allied soldiers of another land. After all, their scorn and animosity towards him had nothing to do with the team from the leaf, or even the two fresh-faced young men he had been assigned to take with him.

The sand in his gourd stirred, slithering and churning in response to the danger that followed them, and also to the small bit he had given away, the bit that was getting closer and closer as they made their way to the rendezvous point. He would see her again soon enough, and he hoped that this time he would see her well.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

"Take that, you losers!" Naruto jeered as he stopped triumphantly at the river's edge. He threw a taunting smirk back to the tree line as Sakura emerged trying to catch her breath.

He had been very enthusiastic about his little race and had gone on nonstop for a good few miles before reaching his destination. Sakura maintained the opinion that it was still too early for such antics of his, but at least she hadn't been last to the meeting point. She could consider herself safe from a money-guzzling dinner with him. It was Kakashi who would inevitably give in to Naruto's pestering and treat him to a few good bowls of ramen upon their return home.

Sakura stopped a few feet from the riverbank, catching her breath, and shook her head at his shenanigans. She swore he'd always be a child at heart and nothing short of a miracle would ever truly mature the man. But she supposed it was a part of what made him so endearing, always willing to be happy even if the damn world was falling apart. A lot of people would need that optimism throughout his life, and with that considered, maybe she didn't really want him to change too much.

"Good God, Naruto," she huffed as she met him at the bank. "You don't need to be so competitive with your own team." She figured her words true, but she'd seen the sidelong glances given to Sasuke during their days of training together, and the equally cutthroat glances given back. The two of them made one hell of a team, but only if they stopped trying to one-up each other and worked together.

Sasuke emerged from the trees then, a little better off after their run than Sakura currently was, but he didn't seem too pleased with their unnecessary haste either. He looked ready to voice his opinions on the matter, always quick to put down any sort of victory Naruto obtained, but he was quickly cut off.

"Just admit it, you two, you're just sore that you lost to me," he challenged with a wide and toothy grin, a trademark of the young blond.

Sakura scoffed, her hands coming to rest stubbornly on her hips. "Cut it out, Naruto. Sheesh."

"What? I told you I'd win, and we even beat the other team!"

Sakura sighed at this, pinching her brow between her fingers. "It doesn't help their case much when you started a race without them."

With a huff, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, mirroring her stubborn gesture in his own way, and answered in a defiant voice. "I still don't see why we need to team up with anyone for this, it's nothing we can't handle on our-"

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Naruto jumped, not at all expecting the voice that came from behind him, and in turn, Sakura looked up to find a familiar face. Gaara was standing at the river, perfectly balanced atop the gentle current moving below his feet, and was looking as collected as ever. The pendant around her neck was positively buzzing with life, desperate to break its confines and return to the source of its power.

" _Gaara_?" Naruto gawked, disbelief showing clearly on his face.

Sakura bit the inside of her lip, keeping herself from grinning once again when the sound of splashing water caught her attention. There were two young men trailing behind him in the river, not at all as skilled in balancing act as Gaara was. They wore apologetic and shallow grins on their faces. Sakura determined instantly that she had not seen these two when she was stranded in the desert, they must not have been from Temari's old team, and that begged even more questions pertaining to Gaara's presence out here in the forest.

"So sorry," one of them spoke meekly, likely able to hear all of Naruto's sourness toward their mission setup, and he struggled to maintain through the current of the stream while holding a precarious pack over his head. The third member of their small group seemed to be fairing no better than his partner.

"Not a problem," Kakashi answered, a sort of comradery to his voice. "If it hadn't been for Naruto's haste, I'm sure you would have beaten us."

"Here," Sakura said as she made her way down the shallow bank and stepped atop the flowing water. It slithered around the soles of her sandals and not a drop touched her skin. She held out a hand to the first of the two young men trying to manage the stream. "Let me help."

"Oh, I've got it," he stammered, his footing difficult to find on the slippery rocks of the riverbed, and in the midst of trying to muster a confident grin, he slipped and almost disappeared below the water. Still, though, his persistence refused to relent. "Really, we're fine."

Sakura smiled and shook her head, the stubbornness of these men. "Just give me the pack."

He conceded and handed her the pack. She fumbled a moment trying to keep her balance, the pack being a bit heavier than it looked, and she proceeded to take the pack from the other member of their small party as well. With a strap slung over each shoulder, she stepped back to the bank, careful not to make any unnecessary glances to Gaara as she passed. Just a small smile and a nod his way in greeting, not nearly enough for her, but it would have to be enough for now. She would find time to talk, to catch up, to poke and prod about why he was here, how Temari's team was managing, how things had carried out in the desert after she left, and all the other things she'd thought to ask in the weeks of silence between then and now.

His response to this small greeting had been a slight upturn of his chin, not even a full nod, and then his eyes were scanning the trees again, not on her for more than a moment.

"Thank you," said the other sand nin as he hauled himself from the stream, "I'm Korobi, by the way."

Sakura handed him his pack with a friendly smile. "Sakura," she replied. "Nice to meet you." The last of their team pulled himself from the water and relieved Sakura of his pack, thanking her as he did so. "It's no problem, uh…what was your name?"

"Of course," he said, smiling timidly in a bit of embarrassment. "I am Yaoki, it's a pleasure."

Taking a moment to look over these two new faces, Sakura noted how polite the two of them seemed, how they held themselves in the presence of new soldiers and an experienced and well-known captain, and of course how they stood next to Gaara. It was curious, she decided, that such mild-mannered young men be placed on a squad with Gaara, surely his superiors would assume he needed teammates a little rougher around the edges. From the looks of them, it seemed these two shared her thoughts as well.

Kakashi approached and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder, his demeanor was lax and approachable; he was good at that. "It's nice to meet you both, I'm Kakashi, the captain of our squad, and this is Naruto and Sasuke," he said gesturing over to the two standing sourly by the bank. Sasuke continued to eye the allied group suspiciously, his shoulders tensed and his arms crossed stubbornly over his chest marking him as closed off and unapproachable. Naruto stood with a pout on his face, obviously still upset with their situation, but he seemed to lack the bitterness that Sasuke had.

Kakashi didn't dwell on the boys of the squad very long, quickly turning the conversation to the mission. "We should head to our appointed basecamp, it's not far from here. Better to get off the road."

"Of course," Sakura agreed, nodding to the Suna men once more before turning to fetch her team.

As they gathered themselves, Gaara took a quick glance to the far side of the stream, to where the foreboding feeling of dread crept from the darkness between the trees. Kakashi's words echoed in his head if only he knew how right he was. Gaara wasn't used to this, the way his heart thumped heavily in his chest, the way this approaching threat caused him anxiety rather than the excitement it had once brought him. When would they strike? How would they instigate their attack? Would they wait for the mission to be completed or was the Wind's involvement in this simply an excuse to get him far from the city before they made their move? Too many questions to answer now, but the answers would indeed come to him if he waited patiently enough.

"Gaara?"

He turned at the sound of his name. Kakashi stood with him now, sending his team off down the path with Sakura in charge of integrating the new faces into the group. She had a more welcoming disposition than her two counterparts at the moment, more so suited for the task. Kakashi himself was relaxed and seemingly content with who was to be guiding this mission with him. There was a laxness to his shoulders and his posture that Gaara hadn't necessarily expected, but wasn't altogether surprised by. He figured that Kakashi was either very good at putting on a front, or he truly didn't see him as a threat anymore. For once, Gaara wasn't sure if he could tell the difference. At least he had returned Sakura to the man in one piece if nothing else he had that going for him.

Gaara nodded to him and they made way to follow their teams.

"So _you're_ in charge of them?" Kakashi questioned as he nodded toward Yaoki and Korobi.

Gaara only nodded again in response.

"Impressive, I would have thought you would continue on in the scouts."

There was a casualness to the way he spoke, it eased any sort of tension that Gaara might have clung to, and he found himself able to contribute to what Kakashi was saying. "Why's that?"

His answer was a shrug at first, followed by a pause as if a follow up to the remark hadn't been expected. "Well, being on a team with your brother and sister, I don't know, it seems easier."

"It is," he agreed. "But I'm more useful out in the field, they can tackle patrol runs without me."

Kakashi nodded, knowing full well that the Sabaku siblings were indeed a force to reckon with through and through. That privileged upstart and training early in life had found their personal skills and honed them into deadly arts. Word was starting to get out about them all, not just Gaara anymore, and it was said that no one within the walls of Suna knew how to wield an iron fan quite like Temari, and throngs of seasoned puppeteers gave their praise to Kankuro for his ingenuity and innovation with his designs as well as his growing mastery of the strings. There was no limit to where they could go, what they could do, at least…not at the moment, anyway.

He sighed a lighthearted huff. "I'm sure you're right about that."

There was a pause from Gaara as they walked a few paces behind their squad and even though he hadn't known the young man enough to call it out, Kakashi thought he seemed distracted. There was a tension at his side and he waited for Gaara to gather his words.

"There's something you should know," Gaara said, his words so suddenly serious and focused, unlike the absentminded responses he'd given just a moment ago. Kakashi didn't let it show that this worried him, such things at the start of a mission were never a good sign, but he saved face and simply waited for Gaara to continue. "We did not come from the desert alone." His eyes glanced across the river they followed upstream, to the trees that now looked distant and threatening from the safety of their trail. "We were followed."

Kakashi followed his line of sight, eyes scanning the tree line and searching for any slight movement in the shadows. "I see."

Though it was quiet, there was a sharp sigh from Gaara and to Kakashi, it only proved that he had been mulling over their uninvited traveling companions for some time. "I can't be entirely certain, but I believe that the high council of my country has sent the ANBU after me."

"Ah," Kakashi said, a light realization dawning in his voice before it dropped off again with the implications. "I see."

Gaara looked up to the two men entrusted into his care, an unfamiliar feeling bubbling up in his gut as he did so. He clenched his fists and squeezed his thumbs, his knuckles popping one after another in their sockets. Being the target of such malignant hatred since he was just a child, Gaara was used to all of this. The suspicion, the espionage, the countless attempts at his life; they all made up an average week for him, but not these two. Not Korobi and Yaoki. The same council that assigned them to this mission also assigned the ANBU following them with ill-intent. What had these two done to be caught up in the middle of his business with the council? How could the same people who claimed his death to be for the greater good also send their own people – their own helpless and innocent people – to be at his side when they attempted their deed?

There was goodness in this world he found baffling, but there was also hypocrisy and wickedness he swore he'd never understand.

His men were talking with Sakura, answering all of her friendly questions, but the warmth in her eyes and the way she managed such sincerity caused him look away. "If anything were to happen…" he started, looking to the dirt as they walked, feeling almost ashamed that he was bringing this upon Kakashi and his team. Upon her.

It seemed that Kakashi had an idea as to where this was going, and he continued with his nonchalant mannerisms. "Oh, come on now, you don't have to worry about us."

Gaara wasn't so sure of the optimism Kakashi put forth, and his voice certainly showed it. "Yeah…I hope I don't." His eyes shifted over the ground, obviously deep in thought, before he continued on again. "But just in case, make sure they stay out of the way. They don't need to be a part of this," he said, turning his gaze to meet Kakashi's. "And neither do you."

The Konoha captain wasn't at all blind and he'd never considered himself dense; there was clearly a deeply rooted and sensitive history coming to the surface here, something that wasn't to be pressed at the moment. He nodded in agreeance. "All right, Gaara," he said, voicing a calm disposition. "Whatever you say."

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

"You've got to be kidding me," Naruto groaned as they entered the clearing.

The trees parted and the trail led them into the small clearing, a space surrounded by tightly packed trees and dense undergrowth threatening to ensnare the trailhead. There wasn't much to it, just a dusty area of worn dirt, a small charred spot in the center where previous fires had burned, and a small marking on the tree across from their path, the symbol marking this place as safe as could be when out in the forest.

They had arrived at their camp, all of them ready to just sit a moment as they sorted their supplies and set up base. It had been a long hike through the forest after they rendezvoused by the river. The sun had risen higher now, blazing confidently above the trees, and it burned the morning chill from the air. Korobi and Yaoki had finally managed to get most of their gear dry, having unloaded the contents of their field vests and rung them out, as well as opting to go barefoot over walking any farther in their soaked and slippery shoes. It was turning out to be a fine day; warm with a light breeze slipping through the woods, big fluffy clouds drifting overhead, their size casting immense shadows that lazily crossed over the canopy, and their latest forecast called for no rain the rest of the week.

Sakura had hoped that the pleasantness of the day was a precursor to the ease of their mission. She would like that, an easy job with more than enough skill at hand to overcome. Her eyes had drifted to Gaara's direction as she thought this, sure that he could take it all on himself if he had to, and was comforted knowing that his abilities lied on their side this time.

But now, after reaching their destination, she could hardly think of anything except getting off of her feet and digging out something quick to munch on. She stepped into the clearing, stretching her arms above her and giving her back a good crack after the long walk on the trail. She looked around, not at all as disappointed as Naruto had so blatantly announced. "Well?" she questioned, bumping him good-naturedly with her elbow. "What did you expect? A cozy little cabin with bunk beds? Maybe even a nice brick fireplace?"

He shrugged, pouting a bit as this mission became more and more of a bummer for him. In a rather pathetic display, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and scuffed his heel in the dirt. "I don't know," he mumbled, more so to himself than to Sakura. "Would have been nice."

Kakashi placed a hand on his head and ruffled his hair, earning him a threatening glance from his student. "Now, now, Naruto, this will do just fine. It's off the main path, secluded, and it'll feel just like home with some tender love and care."

He snorted, huffing to a spot he had decided was to be his, and tossed his pack from his back. He sat and began rifling through his supplies, likey hungry after their morning hike.

Sakura shook her head, setting her stuff down next to Naruto, and unrolling her thin sleeping mat by the fire pit. The Korobi and Yaoki had set their things across the fire from them while Kakashi set his pack down at the trailhead, fine with setting up his chosen sleeping space after he figured his lay of the land. From the corner of her eye, Sakura watched as Gaara walked through the clearing and passed straight through the other side. Though he disappeared from sight, Sakura could still feel him and then all at once; the feeling of his energy changed. It became muted, fuzzy and, if indeed possible, even more all-around encompassing. He had dissolved, broken down to nothing but sandy bits, and he was making quick work of the area beyond their camp. Designating their safe perimeter, she figured.

But as he had strode by without so much as a glance to her, Sasuke walked over to the fire pit and, not uttering a word, unrolled his own sleeping mat next to hers.

It was strange, there had been a time in her life when such a simple action would have stirred her heart and made her feel as though she were special, as though she were chosen. But now…now it caused a sudden and intense, though short-lived, feeling of frustration. Why had he chosen this spot now? He never really liked sleeping close to anyone on their missions, claimed it to be for tactical reasons, but she felt she knew better. There was something about the way he closed her off when laying the mat down next to hers, with Naruto to her right and Sasuke to her left…perhaps she felt it symbolized their protection over her defenseless sleep and she liked to think she didn't need such attention.

No matter.

She brushed it aside, feeling silly in the way such feeling had climbed up her gut and wrote it off as her tired feet and the hot day. Looking to distract herself, she peered to their teacher. He stood observing the group and, as it seemed, he had noticed the sudden tension to his student's shoulders.

So had Sasuke. He looked over at her with hard eyes as he paused, scrutiny and sharp inquisition clearly evident across his face. "What's _your_ problem?"

Sakura choked on her words for a moment, matching his look with an equal one of shock and annoyance. After everything _he'd_ said to _her_ over the years…and to snap over something so…so _minuscule_? That tension rose in her throat again, and it threatened to break on her tongue. " _What_?"

"Sasuke?" he asked, coming over to stand by them as they unloaded their supplies. "Why don't you and I go lay some alarm traps around the perimeter? Don't want any late night visitors."

After a moment's pause to send a look her way, Sasuke shrugged, grabbing some knives and other provisions from his pack and slipping them into his utility belt; effectively brushing her off once again.

Sakura looked to her teacher, as if to thank him for a little bit of space from the man, but was only met with a soft look of sympathy. He understood how Sasuke could be and what she put up with to keep them unified, he wouldn't blame her for a shortness of temper every now and again. But it wasn't all sympathy, she knew, there was also a sternness to him. Their teacher would never put up with a spat on a mission so he kept their quarreling to a minimum, but at home…he'd made it clear that she needed to stick up for herself more.

"Want me to come?" Naruto chimed in, already laid out on his mat with his head rested on his pack.

"We'll be fine," Sasuke grumbled, never one to accept help unless completely necessary, and dismissed Naruto's remark as quickly as it had come, stalking off toward the path once again and heading into the trees.

Kakashi shrugged. "No big deal, Naruto, maybe get some firewood or something, eh?"

He snorted in response, rolling his eyes as he did so and immediately relieved his given task to the two sitting awkwardly across the fire pit, unsure of how to manage an allied team's internal affairs.

"Naruto," Sakura scolded with a stern look. "Kakashi asked _you_."

"No, no," Korobi insisted, likely trying to cease any bickering. "We'd be more than happy to." Yaoki nodded from his side. "Please, allow us."

Naruto smirked, obviously satisfied with himself, and settled more comfortably into his mat.

Sakura leaned over to him, speaking sharply while hushed between them. "Don't take advantage of nice people. Come on, they traveled just as far as we did." Setting an example herself, she stood and offered to join them.

Graciously accepting, they seemed relieved when Naruto announced he'd stay behind, three people would gather more than enough wood in his opinion.

Sakura kicked his foot. "Don't pay him any mind," she snorted. "He's harmless."

Seeming to upset him, though not seeming to care, she snatched a quick snack from her pack and strode into the trees with the two young men. Naruto cursed under his breath in their direction before pulling his headband down over his eyes.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Out on the trail again, having been snatching any good firewood they found near the path, Yaoki and Korobi walked a few paces behind Sakura, both staring intensely and both without the courage to be the first to speak. They were sure it was the same one as before…after all, how many people in the Fire country had pink hair of all things? And from what they'd heard of the team that had come to the city…well, it _had_ to be her. They just couldn't remember what her damn name had been.

Yaoki bumped his partner, insisting he be the first to ask. He'd been the one to tell him of what had transpired all those weeks ago; when a Fire country woman had fallen from the sky and into their sands, of how Gaara had saved her, and how she'd taken shelter in the Sabaku home of all places. Of course, word of the attack on the house had gotten around quickly enough on its own, and Korobi told him that when the entire team had arrived and gone with Temari for dinner, his parents had been at the same restaurant that very night. From the description of the team they had seen, it was most certainly them.

He cleared his throat, throwing his partner a sidelong glance to acknowledge his impatience.

"So, Sakura," he began casually, shortening the distance between them when she turned to him.

She had better situated the bundle of thin logs under her arm, resting them for a moment on her hip. "Hm?"

"I was just wondering…are you…um," he stammered, not quite sure how to word his question.

"Am I…what?" she asked, her brow pinching together and her lips turning into a suspicious frown.

Yaoki's curiosity had grown too much for his friend's stammering and he quickly interjected. "You're the one he saved from the desert, aren't you?" His words were fluid, filled to the brim with question and intrigue. Korobi visibly sighed at Yaoki's bluntness but remained quiet to await her answer.

Sakura shrugged, a single nod accompanying her action.

"Where you ever afraid? What was it like?" Yaoki asked without a moment's hesitation.

"Yaoki!" Korobi exclaimed, not at all imagining such a candid approach from his well-mannered friend.

Sakura appeared not at all bothered by this, probably used to such things from her straight-to-the-point teammates, and her eyes drifted to the ground in thought. She bent over, picking up some dried sticks and twigs she saw for kindling, looking to busy her hands as she talked. The two men felt compelled to join her.

"That depends. What was _what_ like?"

"The desert, the beginning," he clarified. "After what happened…to have _him_ show up?"

Sakura shrugged again. "I don't remember much of the desert," she admitted. "I remember landing, maybe the first hour or two depending on how well I kept track of time…but after a while…it all gets fuzzy. I don't know how long I was truly out there…or how long it took us to get back. I can't remember what happened at the hospital right away either, but I know that Gaara's wasn't the first face I thought I had seen out there."

The two sand nin nodded, knowing full well how the heat and the sand could play such tricks on the lost traveler.

"At first, I didn't really know if he was real or not, it was like he came out of nowhere…but he _was_ , and more than anything I think I was relieved." She paused a moment, remembering what he'd looked like when she'd been roused from unconsciousness…different than she remembered, that's how she had known he was real. "He was my way out."

"But," Korobi blurted. "Out of anyone else that could have helped you…why be relieved it was _him_?"

"Because I had been looking for him…or, I had hoped _he_ would be looking for _me_." She paused to huff out a small laugh, noting how her words clearly hadn't helped their confusion. "No one else could have helped me. I was done, totally spent, I had no energy to even try and get myself back. I couldn't have walked all the way back with anyone, I didn't have the time to wait to be carried back…I needed him."

"You didn't think that he'd –" Korobi paused, unsure if his next words were to be appropriate.

"That he'd kill me?" Sakura said, assuming the rest of his thought. He nodded, though a little sheepishly as if ashamed to ask such questions of someone who clearly had done no such thing. "Of course I thought there was a chance. But if that was the case than I was dead either way, might as well try my luck. And good thing I did."

"Yeah…" Yaoki muttered, looking at the ground in thought. "Good thing."

Sakura understood the curiosity these men carried; Gaara was a part of their city, an ever-present part of their lives and what he did had the power to directly affect them and their families. When things got bad with him, she assumed it had to be hell living in fear like that…with such power waiting to flip like a switch. But she intended to spread the good of what he had done, hoping to restore some favoritism to his name, rather than the stigma he'd been forced to live with. So she continued to answer their questions, settling their inquiries to the best of her abilities while keeping some more personal things to herself…the pendant still gently buzzing under her shirt was one of them.

Korobi sighed, thinking about their conversation as his back started to ache from all the weight they'd acquired. Their packs were stuffed with lumber and kindling, their arms carrying bundles as well making it almost time to turn back to camp. "It's strange to think you spent so much time with him."

Sakura shrugged, a little awkwardly with her arms so full, but shrugged nonetheless. "It wasn't _that_ much time…only a day or two at most."

"Still…"

She suppressed a smile, thinking back to the night he'd caught her in the greenhouse and the way he'd been sternly waiting for her atop the trail up the southern walls, how she'd been attacked and he'd come from nowhere to snatch her just in time.

"It wasn't…bad?"

Sakura shook her head as she looked at Korobi. "No, not at all." The sound of a stream caught her attention, a soft lapping of water against a shore, and she dropped her armful of wood and her pack in favor of freshwater. "Come on," she called to the two standing in question. "I'm gonna teach you two something."

They shared a look before shrugging and leaving their loot with hers on the ground. It was just dead wood, no one would bother taking it. They strode after her and after a few paces off trail there was a small stream, likely a tributary to the shallow river they crossed earlier. Sakura was at the shoreline, looking into the clear current. The stream was wide with little more than a foot's depth at the deepest point. Bright green grasses billowed below the rippling waters, shimmering pebbles and tumbling stones moved about in the current, and tiny little fish swam in the safety of the weedy shallows.

Sakura stepped off the sandy shore and onto the water, the surface parting around her shoes and flowing under her feet with effortless ease. She turned to them, perfectly balanced atop the creek, and with her hands on her hips, she grinned. "Now you try."

They both groaned, sure they'd only make a fool of themselves, and quickly tried to back out of it.

"Oh, no," she insisted, taking fluid steps across the water as if walking on land itself, and strode up the shore to them. "It's easier than it looks. And it's useful. Have you never learned this?"

"Of course we have!" Yaoki countered, his voice coming out a bit defensively. "But it's not like we've always got rivers to practice on."

"I know," she replied. "But you've learned the basics of this before. It's hardly different."

They both shared their skepticism.

"Just watch," she sighed, walking back to the water. It was then that Korobi noticed her sandals were free of water, her steps leaving no clumps of wet sand in her place. "All water has surface tension, you know that." They nodded. "The goal is to tap into that tension and not break it." She stepped atop the water for emphasis, not even breaking stride in doing so. "You've got the ability to create a barrier between your feet and the stream by keeping a defined separation between yourself and the actual surface of the water. Shallow, slow-moving water is the perfect place to start."

"Just walk out there?" Yaoki questioned.

"No, not so directly. Just start with a foot, see if you can tell the difference between your own energy and the energy keeping the water together. Once you do, just focus on separating the two. The water should roll off of you, it shouldn't soak into your shoes and it shouldn't make any actual contact with your feet."

The two gave it a try, cautiously placing a foot over the surface of the water. They focused, knowing that the tension was there, that they just needed to tap into it. Korobi found it first, zeroing in on the feeling of the water beneath his feet, and gathered his chakra where the two energies met. Suddenly, and with a sharp yelp from the man, his foot was swept out from under him and yanked downstream, the rest of him quickly following suit.

There was a crash as he fell into the water, quickly followed by the stifled laughter of Sakura as she forcefully cupped a hand over her lips.

Korobi quickly sat up and lifted himself from the stream, soaked once again, and cursed rather loudly to the trees. "Damnit all!" he yelled, gaping down at his dripping attire, and then quickly glared over at Sakura who was still trying not to laugh at him. "What happened?!" he demanded. Yaoki huffed out the start of a laugh before catching himself, almost feeling sorry for his friend in such embarrassment.

Sakura finally let herself laugh fully and shook her head at the man. "I said _separate_ yourself from the water! Not _attach_ yourself to it!" she laughed out, wiping a tear from her eye. "The _water_ is supposed to go downstream, not _you_."

"How am I supposed to know the difference?" he challenged, clearly upset with this blunder.

Sakura merely shrugged. "Well, whatever you just did; do the opposite."

Korobi rolled his eyes. "Wow, great advice."

"You'll get it soon enough, I'm sure."

Yaoki tried his luck with the current again, throwing a jeering look in his partner's direction. "I'm not so sure about that."

 **…**

Sakura remained atop the current, watching the two as they tried their hand at the useful trick, and guided them when she could, encouraging them when they needed it. They were getting better, the feeling of running water below their feet was a much more alien sensation to them than it was to her, it just took getting used to. She didn't worry about getting back to camp, sure that Naruto would sleep until disturbed and that Kakashi and Sasuke would rather be thorough than anything and wouldn't be back until the sun started to fall.

She had time to kill, and there was a distracting sensation she'd been trying to ignore.

He was close, though she couldn't pinpoint where exactly, she knew he had materialized and had chosen a spot to stop. His energy was stronger now, less muted and more intense, and the pendant around her neck reacted accordingly; buzzing and shaking with that pulsing rhythm. In a way it bothered her to think that he was still out there, forcing himself into seclusion once again, and she intended to seek him out, to give him company as she had before.

She saw her chance.

"You guys keep trying," she said, drawing the attention of the two young men again. "I'm just gonna go for a quick walk, take a look around. I'll be back for my share of the firewood." She waved them goodbye as she stepped to the other side of the creek, their halfhearted waves back showed they weren't so sure about her idea but didn't quite know how to refuse someone not on their own team. It was easy enough to take advantage of.

"But…" Yaoki started to protest. "When will you be back?" he called after her.

She was already on the opposing bank, giving her legs a quick stretch after so long atop the current. "Don't know…won't be too long, though!" she said, doing her best to assure them of her confidence in the matter. After all…she wasn't planning on being alone out in these woods.

"But what do we tell your team?" Korobi insisted, fearing the worst from that blonde loudmouth and that brooding companion of theirs.

She merely shrugged, not really caring what explanation they were given. They could go an hour without her, they'd done it before.

She waved them one last goodbye before slipping into the trees, finding no main trail on this side of the creek as there had been on the other. No matter, she had another trail to follow. It was a little easier this time in comparison to seeking him out in the crowded desert city. There were fewer signatures out here, fewer people to distract her, and the pendant around her neck seemed to pull her towards that pulsing epicenter.

But what would she say? What if he hadn't wanted to see her? He had put distance between them quickly enough…hadn't kept any sort of contact with her…hadn't even looked her in the eyes.

She felt her heart drop a little, causing her pace to slow for a few steps. Maybe he had made his intentions clear and she'd simply ignored it. Stopping altogether, she pulled the pendant from her shirt and held it between her fingers. It stirred and shook, the sand within finally active and swirling once again after weeks of sitting dormant. She'd never gotten a good look at it during the daytime, never wanting prying eyes to see her little gift, but now that she had the chance she noticed how beautiful it was. The sunlight piercing the glass and shimmering off the polished grains of sand, the way it swirled about and churned in strangely synchronized patterns…

Sakura tucked it back beneath her shirt and continued on, following the path that pendant laid out before her. Perhaps he had written her off, but if that was the case, she would at least give him the necklace back. No point in keeping it then.

After not even half a mile into the woods, she began to feel the force of the energy she followed get stronger. All around her it grew as it seemed to buzz through the trees and thicken the air. She had expected this, a little while on her own and away from everyone and he would notice she was by herself. Perhaps he'd seek her out, perhaps she'd find him first, either way; she knew it was only a matter of time.

The pressure to the air gave way, a flurry of sand bursting from between the trees, and Gaara quickly materialized before her; his shoulders were tense, as was his face, though he appeared to be trying to hide it. She hadn't expected such a sour face straight away, but it was his energy that truly threw her; there was something off about it, something she was sure she hadn't felt from him before. She hadn't been able to tell before, but now, alone with him and standing so close… Her heart sank a little in her chest, growing cold at the strange look in his eyes…maybe she _had_ been right.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" he questioned, his tone sharper than he'd intended, and he could see how it instantly put her on edge. He couldn't help it, though, he'd been discourteously interrupted by her meanderings about the woods.

There had been a good spot to stop and sit a while, tracking the movements of the team sent to follow him as they advanced, keeping a good distance and effectively avoiding any trails used by the deployed mission groups, both Suna and Konoha trails. They were doing their best not to be spotted, though it was a futile effort in the end. But then he had felt her grow closer and by herself no less. He had hoped that her damn team could keep an eye on her, that teacher of hers included. He'd specifically told Kakashi of the danger to ensure this, though apparently, his warnings had gone unheeded. Not wanting her to be spotted or cornered when out alone, he had abandoned his watch and come to fetch her. Not taking time to calm his agitated nerves beforehand might have been a mistake.

Sakura shrugged, slightly taken aback by his tense disposition. "I was looking for _you_. You just left and didn't tell anyone where you were going, didn't say a word." She crossed her arms over her chest defensively and looked away. "I got worried." She chewed the inside of her lip in a moment's thought. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"You shouldn't be out here by yourself," he insisted, brushing aside her words. She shot him a confused look in response and he couldn't blame her; this was the forest, this was her home, she was better off here than anywhere else in foreign lands. If he knew she could survive the desert without water or protection until help arrived, he definitely knew the forest would be much kinder to her.

"Well," she started, drawing her brow together and looking at the ground. "I figured I wouldn't be alone too long…and I was right," she said, making a point to gesture to her current company; himself. There was a pause between them, neither really knowing what to say, until Sakura broke the silence with a quick snap in his direction. "It's good to see you by the way," she said, the words sounding strange when sneered at him the way they were, but her point had been clear.

He sighed, yet again having to remind himself of the normal pleasantries of others. It had been very clear from the beginning that somewhere over the past few weeks she had taken a step back from the level of such casual comfort she'd attained with him in the desert. The time apart had indeed put another sort of distance between them, and he'd been thoroughly confused by this worrisome nature she was presenting. He'd quickly noted a busyness to her eyes, sudden bursts of deep thumping to her heart, an awkwardness to that first grin she'd given him in greeting… It made a little more sense now; things needed to be reestablished, things needed to be reaffirmed.

Gaara took a step toward her, his shoulders visibly relaxing and doing his best to ease his tone. "I'm sorry. It's good to see you, too, Sakura."

Her eyes focused on him then, a little defensive still, and it was clear she didn't feel the need to soften her tone. "Oh yeah?" she challenged. "Could have fooled me."

He met her challenge with an exasperated sigh. "I don't understand…why are you upset?" he asked, daring to be blunt and see what that got him.

Sakura scoffed, a sort of surpassed choke on her own words. "Why am I upset?" she repeated as if the words themselves were a foreign language. Gaara held back a grimace. As much as he admired her tenacity and sheer guts when it came to him, that tone of hers had the ability to crawl right under his skin. "You haven't said a damn word to me!"

Gaara let out a sharp breath, cracking his knuckles before running a hand through his hair. "Sakura," he began, clearly agitated and confused with handling such frustration from others. "It's only been a few hours –"

"A few _hours_?" she interrupted, pure disbelief in her voice. "It's been _weeks_!" This caused him to pause. "Weeks without anything from you, or your sister, or _anyone_."

"Well, what did you want from me?" he demanded then, growing tired of this back and forth. There were ears all over this forest, who knows if she'd been followed to this point, if she was only making herself a target to use against him by continuing these actions. "What was I supposed to say?"

Sakura huffed, desperate to get a reading on the energy he put forward. She couldn't tell if he was mad or not, it was erratic and buzzing with intensity, but didn't feel malicious as she had felt it before. "Maybe that you quit the scouts and were taking missions? Does this mean Temari didn't qualify for captain? Did she lose her team?"

"What's it to you? What could you have done either way?"

"I could have at least _said_ something!" she retorted, her voice slipping from its control for a moment before falling again to something quieter, something softer. "I thought we were friends."

She was met with an immediate response. "We can be friends."

Sakura paused, taking a breath to steady her voice before looking up at him. She met his eyes with a stern tenacity that wasn't meant as anything threatening, more so…laying ground rules. "Friends talk to each other, Gaara."

"Okay," he agreed. His eyes moved to a distant tree line, to something she had neither heard nor felt, and he cracked his knuckles again.

"So then talk to me," Sakura challenged. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Enforcing a perimeter," he answered quickly, too quickly…too rehearsed.

She almost laughed at him. "No, you're not." He didn't respond, but with the look he shot her, he didn't have to. She merely pointed in the opposite direction. " _That's_ where the perimeter should be." A stillness descending to her features as she looked at him with new, less amused eyes. "So then…what is it?" Her eyes drifted to the west, to the direction of the river they crossed, to whatever lay beyond those waters.

Gaara cursed himself, the pendant above her chest thumping in time with her heavy heartbeats. He tried his best to sound sincere. "Nothing, just…trying to be helpful."

"No, that's not it," she countered quickly, almost absentmindedly as she continued to study the trees. "I know that's not it."

Perhaps sincere was still too out of character, he would try a more expected approach. "And how would you know?" he retorted, a little snap to his voice again.

This bothered her none, and she turned to him then, a sureness to her eyes as they locked with his. "…You're nervous, Gaara…you don't get nervous."

He grimaced, not at all fond of how her abilities of perception played out for him, and took a step towards her. "Come on," he said, extending a hand to her. "We should go."

Sakura hesitated, the sudden stiffness to his shoulders and the tense way his jaw moved as he spoke made her…uncertain. "Go where?"

Gaara paused as well, eyeing the space still left between them in slight confusion…she hadn't hesitated last time. Something pulled tight in his gut and he did his best to force it down, obligating himself to move for her. The sand amongst the dirt began to stir and whipped up to the air as suddenly as his movements. He pulled her close and, as if suddenly on autopilot, she perched at his side and held tight to his shirt. She turned away from the sand, holding her eyes tight and preparing herself for what was to come.

All at once she was pulled apart by the sand and surrendered to its whims. Sakura clung to what sense of clarity she could, feeling fuzzy and weightless, yet at the same time pulled by some unknown force in the distance. She knew what that force was, she'd felt it last time and remembered it well. She could only try her best not to lose herself to the forces of that creature.

There was physical surface beneath her feet before she even realized she had feet again. It had been too long, she'd grown unused to this trick and between the struggle to regain control of her balance and the buzzing lightness to her senses; she needed a moment to gather herself. Sakura steadied her balance and tried to take a step away from Gaara, only to be quickly held within arm's length.

"Careful," he warned, his firm grip enforcing his words.

Sakura looked down at her feet. She stood on no path, not even dirt at all, but bark. They were up in the trees, a dizzying ways off the ground, and she was quickly shocked back into clear perception. Her fist found his shirt again, quickly drawing herself closer to him and gasping in a breath of shock.

"Oh, god. You could have warned me," she scolded, turning those eyes up to him as she steadied herself on the rounded branch.

Gaara nodded, stepping back and allowing her to stand on her own. She'd gathered herself enough, having solidified her footing to the tree as to not lose her footing. "I'm sorry," he said, the actual sincerity in his voice almost surprising him. "You were more used to it before," he confessed, hoping it would justify his haste.

Sakura nodded, remembering for a moment how it had gotten almost addictive, and the buzz to her senses was a pleasant reminder as to why. "I guess," she said brushing it aside and looking at him with cautious curiosity. "So are you going to tell me?"

He paused, studying her face as if weighing his options, but soon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He needed a haircut, she noted, and briefly wondered exactly who it was that convinced him to get such things when the time came. Such musings were short-lived, however, as his next words were very sobering.

"I was followed from the desert," he confessed, cutting straight to the point. "There's a squad of ANBU trailing us a few miles out, I came out here to track their movements."

Sakura nodded, folding her arms over her chest. "And?"

"Staying out of immediate range, though I don't know for how long." He looked off to the west, to where the slight yet ever-present force of life drew his attention. It stirred the beast within him, doing nothing but feeding its urge for carnage and bloodshed. A battle of worthy adversaries, a chance to send a message and paint the forest red with enemy and allied blood alike. He feared it wouldn't be long before it reared its ugly head.

"Why did they go after your team?" Sakura asked.

"Not my team," he answered, wanting to clarify Korobi and Yaoki's involvement. "Just myself."

"And…" she started, her heart thumping in her chest, her posture hesitant and her voice unsure. "And you know this…because –"

"Because this isn't the first time they've tried to kill me." Her eyes went wide at his bluntness, a short gasp escaping her lips. "And I doubt it will be the last."

"But then," she began, taking a step closer to him as a desperation fell across her face. "Then does that mean the bandits are a hoax? Was this all just –"

"I don't know, I doubt it…I think they just took their first chance to get me out of the country and as secluded as possible." He paused a moment to think, Sakura struggling with words herself. What could she say to this? How was she to react to such candid and casual admission of assassination? Of course, she had known, but she was sure that speaking of it was like a social taboo, not like such blatant facts of life. "Whatever the case," he persisted, the stern and sure force to his voice effectively garnering her full attention. "I need you to stay as far away from any of that as possible. You, your team, everyone."

She thought over his words a moment, her brow pinching together in confusion and worry, the very expression itself almost leaving him speechless. "By yourself?" she muttered as if the words didn't make sense to her. "You plan to face all this on your own?"

"Of course," he answered quickly.

"But, but we're here, all of us, we could help. This is ridiculous, they shouldn't be –"

"Sakura, stop," he interrupted, his tone quickly silencing her. "I can't have you get in the middle of this, I already informed Kakashi and told him to keep you out of it."

She scoffed, an anger bubbling up in her chest at his sheer and brazen stubbornness. "Gaara this isn't right!"

He thought of retaliating, thought of telling her how he'd raided communities and outposts and leveled them in his wake, how he'd terrorized soldiers and claimed lives for twisted amusement, it hadn't all been that voice…some of it had been him. He quickly decided against it, however, those were his sins, his burdens to bear, and perhaps these menacing toils in life were just his punishment. "Maybe not," he said. "But that doesn't change anything."

"What if it was me?" she demanded, her eyes locking stubbornly with his as she stalked up to him, standing close and squaring up with him as best she could. "What if I had ANBU trailing my tail and said no one could do anything?" He said nothing, knowing full well the hypocrisy she was pointing out and refusing to play along. "Tell me _you'd_ stand by and do nothing." He shrugged, averting his eyes and looking to the side. "See!" she insisted, making a blatant show of his reaction. "How can you ask this of me? I can help you, _Naruto_ can help you –"

"You haven't done the things I've done, Sakura," he said, his voice was low and even, almost like he had a tired patience with the subject. She quieted, feeling the weight that pressed on his shoulders in the energy that flowed around her. "But I'll be okay," he reassured, trying again to sound believable. "They haven't gotten me yet."

She gave him a shallow nod but he sure she hadn't actually heard him. Sakura stepped forward again, her eyes were hard on him, something he was sure he'd never truly get used to, and the sudden steadiness to her voice caught him off guard. "I won't do it."

He sighed. "You have to, please." She offered him no response, not even to a plea from him. "Just stay away from them and don't get involved."

"Why?" she spat back in response. "So they can get away with treating you like this? So they can bully us into leaving you for the wolves?"

"No!" he spat back, easily forgetting to control that temper in his voice. "I don't want to kill anyone, Sakura!" This seemed effective in silencing her again. "If you try to get involved, if they hurt you or…well, I just _might_ kill them."

She wanted to fight back, to say no and cement herself to his side so he wouldn't have to face such a threat alone…again…but she couldn't. She knew she couldn't. He was right, after all, she would only get in the way, she would only serve as a distraction and a means of manipulation against him. These were not her people, they were not her affairs to deal in, and as much as she cared, as much as she worried, she couldn't save him from this. There was a darkness brewing that was coming for him, and she had to trust him.

"Just," he sighed before taking a sharp breath. It was always something to watch him struggle for words. "Just keep it on you. Okay?"

"The necklace?" she asked, pulling the thin chain and pendant from below her shirt.

Gaara nodded, observing the way she held the sphere with such tender care between her fingers. Something shifted on her face then, like a slow realization to the true implications of what he was asking of her. "Just in case."

"Gaara," she said, her hand dropping the pendant to dangle around her neck, gripping his shirt and pulling herself closer, a worrisome sternness glowing in her eyes as she looked up to him. He went stiff, his throat tightening and his heart thumping loudly in his ears. "Promise me you'll be all right."

He almost wanted to laugh, as if her concern were only a joke, but the sincerity in her eyes spoke volumes otherwise. He tried his best to relax, apparently he needed to adjust to her proximity more than he'd initially thought, and he took her hand from his shirt. He was unhappy with the unease and worry it demonstrated, favoring when she had more confidence in his abilities when he stood alone against his foes. "You know I'll be fine," he insisted.

She responded without hesitation, matching his insistence with her own. "Promise me," she demanded again, solidifying her firm position on the matter.

He paused a moment, suddenly overcome with the desire to not return her to her team as he had all those weeks ago. This is what he had missed; the comfort, the ease, the wonder he felt over her chosen proximity, the way she worried for him… He nodded, relenting to her wishes. "I promise."

Apparently, he'd gotten something about sincerity right because she seemed more comforted by this. She sighed with a weak smile, still worried and clearly distracted by the news, but clearly relieved. She knew he'd survived worse before, she knew he had the power to take on just about anything, but that didn't keep her blood from running cold and her heart racing sharply in her chest. The thought of being able to do nothing was a chilling thought, but this was Gaara's business and she'd trust him as he had trusted her with the tensions of her team in the desert.

Unable to help it any longer, she stepped up to him and threw her arms around his neck, pulling herself against him in an embrace. He went positively stiff, either thoroughly confused or completely surprised, she didn't know. Either way, she scoffed at him. "You're so dense," she said, poking fun at his socially inept ways, and as if to prove her wrong he eased the tension in his shoulders and placed an arm around her waist in return. She bit her lip to keep from snickering, he was just…so awkward sometimes. "I missed you, you know?" she said, pulling away from him.

Gaara nodded, she had told him that she would even before she left the desert, of course, he knew. She remained silent, an eager sort of patience in her eyes…perhaps hopeful was a better term.

His silence wasn't what she'd been waiting for, apparently, as she visibly swallowed before continuing. "Did you…you know…" she finished with an odd little gesture to herself, the insinuation clear.

"Yes," he answered quickly, bemused by the way she chose to embarrass herself just to hear the obvious. "Of course I missed you."

"Good," she said, a grin crossing her lips as she did.

It was that crooked sort of grin that touched her eyes, the one that had first baffled him, but now – for a moment – it breathed some new life into him. Yes, there was danger on the horizon, but there was familiarity and safety before him once again. They could come for him if they wished, he would be merciful and sparing, though he couldn't promise the same if harm found its way to her. Just as last time, he assumed, there would be blood to pay for such actions.

"Can I stay with you a while before I go back?" she asked, peering those vibrant green eyes over to him once again.

He nodded, her words reminiscent of when she'd kept his company in the desert, and he eagerly invited more opportunities for moments of such quiet content. "Sure," he agreed, quietly amused at the way she sat against the trunk of the giant oak, appointing him the place beside her. He took it without question and without hesitation. "Whatever you want."

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	2. Installment 1(2)

Follow the Sun; Excerpts of Time

Installment 1; Part 2:

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Gaara stood from his perch on the towering old oak, the bark cracking underfoot as he did so, and his eyes set hard on the horizon. Actively tracking the advancing team of ANBU, he'd felt them on the move again, and closing distance. Over the past hour or two, he'd been tracking their time as well, trying to figure motive by the speed of approach. Helped only by the slowly setting sun, and so easily distracted by his company, Gaara was sure he'd lost track of time somewhere and now the ANBU were indeed closer than expected. He looked down to his side, to where his companion sat oblivious and unaware. It surprised him for a moment, to see that she hadn't noticed the sudden advance of powerful foreign life, but he knew he couldn't blame her. He was here, after all, standing so close and drowning her in the never-ending current of energy he put forth, washing her senses of anything else in place of that overwhelming power he was burdened with.

"You need to go back." His words were firm, no room for question, and the sudden break in his silence caused her to jump.

Sakura turned to him, having been distracting herself with the little plants that grew about the trunks and branches of these ancient beasts, and stood in question. "What?" she asked, her eyes drifting to the west. "What is it?"

"They're advancing," he confirmed, a sudden haste to his voice as he quickly gathered her field belt she'd removed, forcing it into her hands.

"From where?" she tried to clarify while struggling to fasten her belt; so awkwardly weighed down by the supplies it carried. "How fast?"

"Fast," he answered. "I'm going to send you back to camp."

He stood a step back from her, the sand from his gourd seeping out into the air and slithering in wispy tendrils around her feet. It took a moment for her to realize what he was doing, he'd only ever done it while standing close to her before, always with him, never on her own.

Sakura's heart leapt into her throat. "Wait," she pleaded, stepping into the swirling sand as it parted around her, the grains just barely brushing her skin. "What about you?"

He shook his head. "I'm going north, to lead them away from camp." He persisted in trying to send her off, the sand still hovering eagerly in the air around them. She only scoffed and swatted it from around her face.

"You don't know they'll follow you," she countered.

"They will, they've tracked me this far."

She refused to listen. "You should come back with _me_ ," she insisted, stepping up to him and trying to emphasize her point. "You can't be running off to do things on your own, you'll get yourself killed." Her eyes shifted to the west again and he could tell she was trying to sift through all that was suffocating her to feel what he had felt.

He scoffed, unable to help it, and shook his head. "Come on, Sakura, I'll be just –"

" _Fine_?" she snapped, those hard emerald eyes of hers turning back on him. "Yeah, maybe this time, maybe next time, but not _every_ time."

Gaara sighed and his lips thinned into a stubborn line as he took hold of her shoulders. She didn't react, not a flinch, not a jerk; she just stared him down. "We discussed this," he reminded her, his voice low and serious. " _You_ stay out if it, _I_ take care of it."

"I'm not helpless, you know," she sneered as she stubbornly looked to the side, her brow pulling together as her lips turned into a frown.

He sighed as he studied her face; surely not the most becoming expression he'd yet seen. "I know," he said, completely sure of his words. Upon hearing this, at least, she offered him eye contact. "But _both_ of your teachers would have my head if I let something happen to you." He hadn't been intending it, but this brought a smile to her face – even if only for a moment – and he was glad it had. "Stay by Kakashi," he pressed. "I won't be long, you'll know when I'm back," he assured her. He knew it was true, after all, he couldn't very well get too close before she pegged him for a dead giveaway. It wasn't the greatest tactical weakness to have…he'd have to find a way to work on that.

She thought for a moment, repeating to herself how she had agreed and she had promised to trust him. Her own stigma against these oncoming men aside, Gaara sought no bloodshed on this mission, she could play along. "Fine," she agreed. "But I'll be waiting."

He almost chuckled at this; the way she peered up at him through the worry, as if to scold him with those eyes of hers. "I'm counting on it." The sand started about the air, trying to finish the work she'd so rudely interrupted, only to be paused again.

"Wait a minute," she said, reaching out to clutch the fabric of his sleeve. "I…I don't think I want to…go alone," she admitted, looking down to the sand as it churned around her feet, knowing full well what type of malice lay beyond those innocently misleading grains. She'd always clung to him before, a way to solidify herself as separate from the beast… but how could she keep straight, keep together, all alone?

He nodded, cursing himself a moment for assuming she'd find no ill intent from the void by herself. She was a stubborn woman with a sharp mind and a tenacity that – somehow – seemed to rival his own, but the beast was not hers to deal with and the anxiousness she presented was entirely warranted. "Of course," he said, freeing his sleeve from her grasp so he could more comfortably step closer. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head, perching herself loosely at his side when he slipped an arm around her waist. He could feel her heart race again, fluttering like little bird's wings as she waited in anxious excitement. "No, it's…" she muttered, her tone giving away her slight embarrassment. "It's silly."

The forces in the west were drawing ever closer to his chosen lookout, if Gaara wanted to get them away from the direction of camp, he had to hurry. "It's all right," he assured her, the sand thickening in the air and swallowing the daylight. Gaara pulled her closer and Sakura took a deep breath, settling herself against him as the world fell away. It was then that Gaara caught himself wondering when – if at all – he'd first noticed how well the curve of her waist fit into his hand.

The thought was short-lived, however, for soon there was nothing left of either of them as they fell to the earth as grains of sand. Then, slithering swiftly along the ground like deadly serpentine tendrils winding about the trees, he raced her back to camp. For her, there was no sense of the outside world as they traveled, only what she could still make of him, and what reached out to her from the darkness. For him, however; he saw it all through a crude set of eyes, speaking in the deep groans of the land and the low creaking of roots locked tight in their soil. Even in the void, though, even as that beast whispered doubts and echoed laughter in his head, he could still feel her, a pressure at his side that…perhaps, he'd missed more than he realized.

It was thoughts like this that stuck with him, made his heartbeat feel labored and heavy in his chest, and it felt like he'd reached her destination all too quickly. The sand gathered on the ground, swirling up and churning about as they arrived. In a sense he was torn; he preferred her in the flesh, but in the void, he shared her with no one. There was only that sickening chuckle from behind his mind to answer him.

Well… _almost_ no one.

He could have smacked himself, knowing such impulsive thoughts would only bring him ruin, and the constant berating from the screeching in his head proved him right. He held back his grimace and the urge to crack his knuckles, releasing her from his side and letting her find balance on her own. They had materialized a little ways off the main path, the one they'd taken to their camp. She wobbled a bit, her legs still shaky and unsure of their ability to bear weight, but she managed just fine, taking in her new surroundings as the sand settled beneath the grass once again.

"Camp is that way," he said, pointing off to the east. "Just keep going straight and you'll find the trail soon enough."

Sakura looked off into the trees, nodding to herself. "Okay," she complied. "Don't be gone long. Do you have a radio?" she asked, already trying to dig hers from the belt hanging around her hips. He nodded and motioned to hand hers over. She surrendered it and waited a moment as he switched her channel, the receivers hissed in response and she was given her radio back. Sakura fiddled with it a moment, securing it around her neck and flipping back to the channel of her team, them tuning back to Gaara's. She smiled and turned the small mic away from her lips.

"What should I say to them?"

Gaara shrugged. "What did you tell Yaoki and Korobi?" he asked.

She paused, a breath caught between her lips as her eyes grew wide. "Oh, _shit_. I forgot my share of the firewood! I said I'd get it after my walk."

Gaara chuckled, shaking his head. "They took it back for you, did you really think they'd leave your things sitting alone on the trail?"

Sakura shrugged, clearly upset with herself. "But how would you know?" she demanded with a quirky upturn on her lips. "Where you spying on them?" she jeered.

"Yes," he answered simply. She openly gawked at him before turning to a mad grin. He shook his head with a sigh. "They never did quite get the hang of the water."

Sakura chuckled, unable to hold it in. "And just how long were you watching _that_?" she asked through her laugh.

He shrugged again. "Since I left camp."

"Wait," she said, pointing a finger his way. "You were watching us ever since you left?" He nodded. "And just why exactly?"

Gaara only paused, at first unsure whether her words were a joke or not. "I've got a squad of ANBU on my trail and I figured it would be good to keep an eye on my team. Then, of course, Naruto sent my two inexperienced subordinates out into the unknown forest with the intent to just aimlessly walk around looking for dead wood, so…yes, I kept an eye on them."

Sakura thinned her lips trying to keep back her grin, the way it pulled her cheeks and glowed in her eyes wasn't at all lost on him. "Aw," she teased, giving him a nudge of her elbow. "You were worried about them, that's _so_ sweet."

He really could have groaned at this, though he definitely _did_ roll his eyes. "Camp," he urged, physically turning her towards the trail and giving her a nudge in the right direction. " _Go_."

"Fine, fine," she relented, turning to quick look over her shoulder at him. The sand was already on the move, just waiting to whisk him away. She smiled and waved a quick goodbye with one hand as she tapped the mic on her radio with the other.

He nodded to her as the sand swallowed him up and quickly vanished into the trees. She paused a moment after he left, watching the tall grass and the leaves shake in the wind he caused.

Turning back to the direction of the trail, she did her best to reach out her senses and follow him. He was fast, very quickly gaining distance as she sifted through the densely tangled undergrowth leading to the main path. She paid no mind to the branches pulling at her locks and snagging her shirt, focusing instead on tracking the fading energy racing off into the deep woods. She supposed she could liken it to the shoreline as it transitioned to low tide; the ebb and flow of the current getting softer, weaker, and further away with every passing pulse. Before she could even reach camp, that enigmatic force that pulled her as much as it pushed, became nothing more than a buzzing at the back of her mind. It still worried her, to send him off on his own like this, but she couldn't refuse him either.

Brushing it from her mind, she saved face for the others and straightened herself as best she could before breaking through the trailhead into camp as casually as could be. Yaoki and Korobi had heard her approach and nodded to her in friendly greeting.

"Sakura," Korobi said. "Glad you made it back all right."

"Thanks," she said with a smile, taking a seat on her mat near the fire pit. The two had begun making a fire, it was getting darker now; the sun starting to sink below the trees and shadows would soon overtake these woods. "And thanks for getting my things," she said, giving her pack a good pat as it sat safely next to her mat.

They shrugged, looking coyly into the fire. "No big deal," Yaoki muttered before turning to look at her more directly. "So where did you go off to?" he asked.

"Oh, you know," she sighed. "Here and there, just…around."

He nodded. "Did you see any sign of Gaara? He's been gone a while."

She dug through her pack and retrieved her canteen, shaking her head as she unscrewed the cap and took a refreshing swig. "Nope, sorry."

They shared a look, neither quite believing her and both unsure of how to press the matter, but they were interrupted as she gave Naruto a rough nudge with her foot.

"Hey!" she barked at him. "Wake up."

"Huh?" he snorted, jerking awake and yanking the headband from over his eyes. "What's going on?" His eyes found sky between the leafy canopy, a darker shade of blue than he'd remembered, and proceeded to notice the fire beginning to crackle to life before him. "Oh," he said, suddenly stiff and needing to stretch. "Hey, guys."

"Good morning," Sakura replied with a sarcastic sweetness. "Nice of you to join us." Naruto merely shrugged and reached for his canteen. He took a drink as he riffled through the pockets of his pack, grinning as he pulled out a protein bar. "I expect Kakashi and Sasuke will be back soon," she continued. "They've been gone quite a while."

"Any word from them?" he asked before taking a bite of the bar. Sakura shook her head. "They're fine," he muttered, clearly not at all worried by their long absence.

She nodded, knowing he was right and laid herself back on her mat. She scooted her feet closer to the warmth of the flames as the growing shadows chilled the forest air and watched the branches and leaves rustle overhead. She could hardly feel it now, the way the sand in her pendant only slightly shook in response to the energy reverberating through the trees, and she knew that Gaara was long gone, possibly even miles away trying to put distance between the ANBU and their team.

She definitely couldn't feel any other signatures she might consider an ANBU in the near vicinity, taking that as a good thing, and trusted that Gaara's plan was working. She repeated his words to herself; _"_ You _stay out of it,_ I _take care of it."_

Sure…she could do that.

For now.

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It wasn't the chill that had woken her – though she definitely didn't care for it now that she noticed – and it hadn't been that annoying snoring she'd had to get used to when Naruto slept on his back. Sakura turned in her sleeping mat, propping herself up on an arm and quickly looking around the camp clearing. The fire had died hours ago, unattended by any nighttime watch, and the clearing of their camp was black to her unadjusted eyes. But she didn't need to see to be sure of what had awoken her.

Something was coming.

Her heart was racing within a moment, clashing haphazardly with the weariness of her limbs and the heaviness behind her eyes. Refusing the urge to jolt up, she carefully pulled herself from her sleeping mat, doing her best to make as little disrupting sound as possible. To her right, Naruto choked on a breath before returning to that slow snoring. To her left, Sasuke stirred in his sleep, always easily roused. Once free from her confines between them, Sakura stood and focused on what she could feel as her eyes adjusted.

It only took a moment to know that Gaara had moved since she had fallen asleep, his energy practically saturated the air, marking him much closer than he'd been when she'd fallen asleep. Perhaps the ANBU had chosen to rest for the night as well, favoring their chances when they could better see and he was able to slip back to camp for the night.

Wait…no, that couldn't be right…then who was coming closer?

"Sakura?"

She nearly jumped, startled by just a whisper from the darkness, and quickly turned to find a familiar shadow silhouetted against the dark trees. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, trying in vain to steady her racing heart, she stepped carefully away from the two sleeping at her feet. "Gaara," she spoke in greeting, her voice hushed between them.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly and quietly. She'd been startled awake and with the necklace hanging just over her heart, of course he'd noticed. "I'm fine," she breathed back. She took a chance to look at the canopy but was unable to see any starlight beyond the dense leaves. Walking up to him, she hugged her arms around herself to suppress a shiver. "What time is it? Do you know?" she whispered.

"It'll be dawn soon," he confirmed, nodding over to the other side of the clearing. "Kakashi is already gone."

Sakura followed his direction and was better able to see the empty mat as her eyes adjusted. "What's going on?" she asked, looking back to him. "Where did he go?"

He took steps toward the tree line and waited for her to follow, insinuating his intent. No need to disturb the others, it seemed, better just to talk elsewhere. She nodded, and after grabbing her field belt from her spot between her teammates as silently as she could, Sakura followed after him into the seclusion of the trees. "Kakashi left to ensure safe trails for the mission today," he explained, a little more strength behind his voice once in her company alone.

"I don't understand," she interjected quickly. "He and Sasuke spent all day doing that yesterday. Why wouldn't they be safe?" she asked, wishing there hadn't been such an obvious tension to the question.

"The ANBU continued to move throughout the night," he answered. Sakura sighed, looking to the ground in thought. So her initial assumption _had_ been wrong; Gaara hadn't come back because it was safe to, he came back because he hadn't been able to completely draw them away. "I had to tell Kakashi, it was better to be sure…they're a little closer than I'd like," he admitted, looking off into the trees, towards the west she assumed it was.

"Gaara," she said, her voice insistent as she stepped closer. "They're coming towards camp." It was clear now that she'd been awoken by the swift approach of foreign forces, strong in both their numbers and their power. It wasn't just anything that snapped her from sleep so suddenly when on the road, it had been wistful to assume otherwise.

"I know that," he responded quickly, his voice practically hissed through tight lips. She could hear him take a breath in the darkness and only then did she realize the tension in his posture, the sharp edge to his energy.

"You asked us to stay out of it, but…you don't think they'll let us, do you?" She could see him shake his head. "Oh," she breathed, looking down as she contemplated a confrontation with allied ANBU. She didn't know their numbers…couldn't figure their chances. "I see."

"They had every opportunity to track me down through the night when I was alone, but they never did."

Sakura nodded. "Of course," she said with that blunt casualness to her voice once again. It made him pause, thinking back suddenly to all those times she'd used this tone with him in the desert. "It would be suicide to take you on in the dark. It's hard enough dodging your attacks as it is, let alone not being able to see them coming."

He smirked, unable to help it…perhaps her confidence in him wasn't entirely healthy for his pride. "Regardless…they only continued to scout closer to camp. Checking traps and snares no doubt, figuring the lay of the land."

"Makes sense," she said with a shrug. "They need daylight to take you on, which means they need to account for _us_. They've got to know what we know." He paused, mulling over the way he could tell her shoulders were tense by just her dark silhouette against the trees. Her heart had slowed, but it still thumped with a heaviness she could feel in every single beat. "You think they'll strike on the mission, don't you?"

There was a moment of silence before he spoke, Gaara wishing dreadfully that he didn't have to involve anyone else in this. "There's a chance."

"What do I do?" she asked, securing her belt around her hips as she did so. "Just tell me what to do."

Once again he was almost taken aback by her brazen tenacity. Here was that fire again, that spark of bravery and fortitude that he hadn't been able to forget. Only this time it wasn't against him, it was on his side. "We'll split up," he said, brushing past how she stopped instantly and jerked her gaze back to him. "Your team will go one way, mine will go another."

"What?" she gapped. "No!"

" _Yes_ ," he countered quickly. "They'll follow me."

"How do you know they'll _all_ follow you?" she challenged.

"I don't," Gaara admitted casually. "But I know _most_ of them will."

Sakura sighed, her breath coming out in an angry huff as she stalked up to him with hard steps. "Gaara, this is crazy," she insisted. "Don't separate yourself from the group."

"It's better this –"

"No it isn't!" she hissed, having to remind herself to keep her voice in check. There were soldiers sleeping in these woods, after all.

"Sakura, listen to me," he said, his voice dropping to something lower and more commanding. She merely rolled her eyes in response. Just _who_ did he think she was, one of his subordinates? Though it was still quite dark below the shadows of trees, Gaara noticed this and chose to forgo the annoyance it caused him. "Just do it. Stop asking questions, stop trying to get in the middle of this."

"I'm on the mission," she replied simply, crossing her arms and squaring up to him in a stubborn display. "I'm already in the middle of it."

Gaara sighed, knowing that she was right but refusing to admit it. "You know what I mean," he said. "I've already spoken to Kakashi about it, he knows to be on the lookout; you should be, too. You'll probably notice before he does, anyway."

Sakura thinned her lips, almost not catching the last words he spoke, more so muttered to himself than to her, and she fought back the grin they caused. She knew her powers of perception were to be admired, especially for her age, but still…it was nice to have him acknowledge it. But the off-handed remark aside, she wasn't about to let her worry slip away. "Have they ever attacked with such numbers before?" she dared to ask.

He shrugged. "Not necessarily. They probably figured I wouldn't be out for blood this time."

 _This time_ … Sakura nodded. "If that's the case, then…the more the merrier." She huffed, strained and disappointed breath flaring her nostrils as she shook her head of such nonsense. It was still beyond her, the sheer audacity of these actions, but she pushed it aside. "Watch yourself, Gaara," she said, her voice quiet and low between them, emphasized with caution.

"I will," he said, the stern tone of his voice solidifying it as a promise meant only to satisfy her, and he turned to view the sky. There was a lightness to it now that contrasted with the dark canopy of the forest. Dawn was quickly approaching, as were the ANBU. "Kakashi will be back to gather you soon," he said turning back to Sakura. "You should go back to camp."

She nodded, noting how her stomach ached for food and how her mouth was unpleasantly dry from thirst. "You'll be back for Yaoki and Korobi?" she asked. He nodded. "All right, I'll see you then." She turned back to the camp and stepped with silent feet across the ground. He called after her before she vanished into the black shadows amidst the trees. "Don't worry, I know," her soft voice spoke back, he could practically hear the smile behind it and he could feel it when she clasped the glass pendant between her fingers. "I'll keep it on me."

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Leaves whipped by in dark green blurs as they traveled swiftly about the thick trunks and branches of the forest canopy. It was safer up here than traveling along the ground, more inconspicuous and harder to track, and they needed stealth on their side. Sakura glanced at Kakashi, thinking over what he had said to her when he'd arrived back at camp. The other boys had still been sleeping and Sakura had gathered her things and prepared herself for the day. She was rolling up her mat when her teacher stepped into the clearing. He'd instructed she follow him, and at the edge of the clearing, they spoke in hushed whispers to each other.

" _I take it you know,"_ he had said. She only nodded in response. _"I know this must be frustrating for you_ – the words had sounded strange spoken from him as if he didn't really understand them – _but just keep your cool out there. Remember; these are still our allies."_ The roll of her eyes hadn't been a favored reaction, but she had agreed nonetheless. _"However,"_ he had continued after a moment's pause. _"Keep an eye on them. Don't let them think they can knock you around."_

She grinned as she repeated her teacher's words to herself once again, happy that at least Kakashi was being realistic. They couldn't just stand idly by, how could Gaara even ask it of her? She'd avoid injury as best she could, as always, but that didn't mean she would play nice. He'd been right about one thing, however; the majority of the ANBU had indeed continued on after Gaara and his team while only a small splinter group diverged to pursue them. They were insurance to make sure no Fire country soldier took part in their deed, no doubt, and Sakura was keeping close tabs on the persistent shadowing of their group. Kakashi looked vigilant, but she doubted he recognized the threat closing distance behind them, he'd been more focused on the trail ahead.

Kakashi had explained Gaara's plan as his own; send himself and his team to take on the ' _bandits'_ from the front, while Gaara and his team approached from the rear; effectively cutting off escape routes and ensuring a quick capture. Naruto hadn't questioned it, happy to take on the brunt force of the operation if it meant some action. Sasuke had immediately looked to Sakura in suspicion, maybe he had heard something earlier when she assumed him asleep…maybe _he'd_ assumed something from the start, still sore over her friendliness with an old enemy. She pretended not to notice, only giving him a small smile in return.

Sakura quickened her pace, soon matching stride with her teacher and trying to gain his attention. "Kakashi," she said, trying to keep her voice between them, but the exertion of her lungs she ran made it difficult. He looked over at her, slowing just a bit so she could easier speak to him. "They're here."

He hesitated in response, taking a moment to try and feel what she felt. Try as he might, he couldn't pick out any signature of foreign life, meaning the threat wasn't yet close enough to break their façade of ignorance, but he trusted the abilities of his student. She had never made a habit of being wrong about these sort of things. Kakashi nodded to her, a silent thanks for letting him know to get ready.

Returning to her normal pace within the group, Sakura pushed past the oncoming threat, reaching out her senses further into the forest, to where the stronger, heavier force rippled out over the land. They'd gained plenty of distance from Gaara's group and at this distance, it was impossible to pinpoint where exactly they were, but she took solace knowing that she could feel proof he was still out there. She wondered when they would intercept with the ANBU… or if she would be able to tell, or when Korobi and Yaoki would appear from the woods after being sent away from danger…

Her heart thumped deeply in her chest, she could feel her worry give way to chilled adrenaline, and she couldn't shake it. He insisted on going it alone and, in the presence of the entire group where she was sure he might actually hold his tongue, she'd almost called him out on it. But she couldn't…everyone had agreed to the plan and she'd just shrugged, looking at the ground and refusing to offer any verbal approval. She had thought she could feel eyes on her, though she didn't know who's, she didn't care. At least _someone_ should notice she wasn't happy with it if _he_ refused to acknowledge –

A hand grabbed her shirt, bunching the fabric of her collar in a tight fist before yanking her to the side. The swift motion caused her to yelp, a sudden breath stolen from her lungs. Stopping on the trees, Sakura quickly found solid footing amongst the towering canopy. With a sharp breath, she looked to where she had been – or to where she had _almost_ been before the trusted hand on her shoulder pulled her away – and saw a knife embedded in the thick bark, still quivering from the throw.

Naruto released her shirt but didn't let go of her. He snatched her hand, quickly sprinting them off toward Kakashi and Sasuke. They had stopped, drawing their own weapons in response and stood at the ready for their team to join. "What was _that_ , Sakura?" Naruto gawked.

"Sorry," she breathed, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze before reclaiming it and straightening the neck of her shirt. "I was…distracted."

He seemed convinced, though not at all pleased with the answer. "But not by the _knife_ coming straight for you?"

"Naruto!" Kakashi hissed. "Eyes ahead."

Swift as could be he had a blade at the ready, eyes scanning the trees for whoever threw that knife or anything else they might hurl at them from the shadows. It didn't go unnoticed, however, the way that Sakura's eyes were fixed in place, and she chose to draw no weapon from her utilities. He turned, wanting to confront her, but was silenced when a man appeared from the trees. The sun was higher now, the day above was brighter and casting all sorts of confusing shadows about the dense and ancient branches.

Not a moment later another appeared, then another…and another.

Their country of origin was clear and obvious, they hadn't gone to any sort of lengths to hide it, and Naruto cursed under his breath, his mind suddenly racing with memories of their last encounter with ANBU from Wind country. Memories of that siege didn't bode well for their current predicament. Sakura could feel him tense at her side, as though all his energy was suddenly pulled taught at the site of those men.

Sakura held back the quivers of panic in her breathing as best as she could. There were six of them, all standing confidently before them…but she knew that wasn't all of them, it couldn't have been. Where were the others? And how many more were there?

"What's this then?" Kakashi asked, throwing the question to the wind, not favoring the silence from this threat.

One of them stepped forward and spoke in a low voice from behind his mask. "We've got business here," he offered simply.

Kakashi mulled this thought before tilting his head toward the knife still stuck in the tree. " _That_ kind of business?" His only response on the matter was one of the ANBU, a scrawnier man near the back of the group, shifted and crossed his arms.

"I'll get straight to the point," the first man spoke again, likely the captain of this little entourage. Sakura felt his words settle within her like rocks in her gut. "By word of the leaders of Wind, Gaara Sabaku is not to return to the desert after this mission. We have precise orders to follow and can't afford involvement of a second party. He did you a favor by splitting you up, don't ruin it by getting involved."

"Involved?" Naruto questioned, his brow twitching above those intense blue eyes. "How exactly do you suppose you'll convince Gaara he can't go home anymore?"

"No, Naruto," Sakura whispered at his side. He seemed expectant of an answer, but her following silence was telling enough. She couldn't watch when the look of realization dawned on his face; causing his eyes to widen and a look of shock to cover his expression.

"What?" he breathed before his brow pinched deeply over his eyes and he turned his forthcoming rage onto the ANBU.

"That's right," the masked leader spoke again, a grave certainty in his voice. "We intend to illuminate the threat he poses to our people."

For a moment, even as the words left her lips, they surprised Sakura. She wasn't used to this tone of voice from her, so dark and uncharacteristically deep – it even caused Naruto a double take. "You won't try a damn thing if you know what's good for you."

The man only scoffed at this, crossing his arms and looking to the side as his fellow men shared in the quiet chuckle. He set eyes on her again after that – even through the mask she could feel it – and his voice turned deadly serious. "You haven't lived with the beast as we have, you haven't watched a mere child able to lay waste to your home and city, or had to comfort those left to suffer in his wake. He's a mistake, a miscalculation, nothing more than chaos reborn in human flesh…if one could even call it that."

Naruto clenched his teeth, his arm shaking as he gripped the knife as tightly as he could. A _mistake_? A _miscalculation_? Nothing he hadn't been called himself…but when spoken about another, about someone else who shared his deeply seeded pain…it just pissed him off. "Oh, yeah?" he said, his voice seething between his teeth. "Then…just what does that make _you_? Following orders based on fear? Sending a kill squad after a team with innocent bystanders of your own people? Listening to leaders who wanted to kill _children_ –"

"Watch your mouth, boy!" An ANBU advanced forward, quickly held at bay by their leader, but Sakura could feel the spike of his adrenaline at Naruto's words. "You will not speak blasphemy of the high council! He was a monster –"

"He was a _child_!" Sakura spat suddenly. "He was a child just as you once were but he was burdened by a power and an evil that we _cannot_ understand!"

" _You_! It is _you_ that does not understand!" the leader spoke, his voice going deep and booming through the trees.

"My god," she breathed, her brow pinching together as she analyzed these men. She stepped forward, standing flush with Naruto and demonstrating herself as his unified team. "Do you _all_ feel this way?" she challenged. "You had so quickly put him on your front lines when it was convenient, but now…?" There was no response, no shift in the energy of the men, nothing to signify doubt or misgivings…just steadfast loyalty to the mission. "Do _none_ of you think this is wrong!?"

" _You_ do not decide what –"

"But _they_ get to?" she spat back, her voice nearly cracking in her throat. "Look at you," she said. "You're all brainwashed."

The man paused at her words, seeming to chuckle given the slight bounce of his shoulders. "Says the Basin girl?" he jeered, earning another scattered chuckle from his entourage. "No, my little wanderer," He continued, taunting her with that knowing tone as he waved a disapproving finger her way. "That would be _you_."

She felt her lips seal shut as they pulled down into a deep frown. She didn't care if she was obvious, they all expected it of her anyway it seemed, and she blatantly reached for the knives tucked away in her belt. They didn't even flinch, she wasn't a threat, not to them…right?

"Wait a minute," Naruto muttered, something clicking in his brain through the anger. He turned to her though she didn't look at him. "Sakura," he mumbled to her, his voice urgent. "Are they saying Gaara knew? That he sent us _away_?" A single nod from her and his eyes were back on the ANBU, something sparking a new intensity to his eyes.

"Don't interfere," the man repeated in response to that look. "I won't say it again."

Sakura scoffed, feeling herself becoming consumed by the heavy-handed energy Naruto sprung forth when his adrenaline and temper got the better of him…when evidence of that fox began to show through. She was becoming daring…more so than usual. "What makes you think we'd listen?" she challenged. "You have no authority over us or this mission, and yet you insist on attacking our teammate and ally. Just save your breath."

"Sakura," Kakashi hissed from behind her, a soft touch against her shoulder to tell her that perhaps feeding off Naruto wasn't the best idea.

"You forget your place in matters of state," the ANBU captain growled back. "We won't hesitate to use force."

Whether intending to or not, this was taken as a cue from his men and, with a flash, a knife was snatched from the air, finding itself between Sakura's fingers before it reached between her eyes. It was a lousy throw, just meant to scare her, and she made a show of keeping the knife. Couldn't have enough against these numbers.

She took a breath, her eyes flickering to her team for a moment, as if hoping for some sort of approval. She found it instantly in Naruto, Sasuke had simply been waiting for the first strike, and she could feel that static that built when Kakashi prepared for battle.

When she looked back to the group and prepared to speak, she noticed one of them suddenly snap his attention to Kakashi while the others merely starred her down in mock implore. He was suddenly on edge, his shoulders tense and wary. "You don't have to do this," she said, hoping that some sort of sincerity shown through in her voice since she hadn't really heard herself. Sakura was fixed on that man, on the way he had tensed and how that tension seemed to ripple through the group. She knew those movements, she knew that disruption of focus…could it be that he was like herself?

The men systematically readied their weapons in hand, following some signal from their leader. "Oh," he spoke gravely with a shake of his head. "But we do."

It was moment's like these; when knives flew quickly through the air only to be dodged and snatched when the enemy instigated battle, that she saw the true speed of her teacher.

Kakashi was gone from the group within an instant, Sakura could feel the static charge to the air left in his wake, and he seemed to crackle as he appeared behind the leader, a hand firmly gripping the man's shoulder. This shocked him clearly, but he seemed paralyzed by the pop and sizzle at his ear as sparks flew from Kakashi's fingertips.

As cool and relaxed as ever, Kakashi sighed, sudden arcs of electricity bouncing across his hand and onto his opponent. "Can't say we didn't try."

His students were well versed in this and knew that the oncoming flash of blinding light from such a discharge would be the perfect cover. With a powerful and violent burst of electrical charge, it summoned even the static from the overhead clouds and – in a stunning display – a writhing tower of pulsating light surged through the forest. It singed against the skin and sent trees shivering with smoldering leaves, but this was nothing new to the young team, and the enemy quickly found themselves sprung upon.

Naruto was able to tackle two of the ANBU into each other and send them careening to the ground. He hadn't waited to see if they hit, he was already on to another, planning on disbanding them and breaking their formation. Brute force always seemed his go-to tactic after all. Sasuke took his flank, the two of them strategically taking down the big and the bad, leaving the scraps for Sakura to clean up. The flash still blinded the ANBU, as did their unsuspected speed, and in those first moments of confusion Sakura drew her knives and followed closely after Naruto and Sasuke. This was their home, the trees were where they were trained and where they lived on the road, who were these men to think they could overtake them here?

She sprung from her branch, landing on the opposing tree and following after Naruto. She slid low, only the cracking of bark to mark her position as the ANBU fought their eyes for sight. She readied her blade, her eyes focusing on the knees of her enemy…just one deep slice, back of the knee…they'd be down, probably for good seeing as none of them carried adequate medical supplies. Perhaps their preference for firepower would be their undoing.

But no, Gaara had said mercy, he had said no interference, and with a curse, Sakura pulled back her blade before it could slice too deep. The air filled with shouts and yells from the sudden forceful assault, some men crying out in pain as their attack was inflicted. She took a breath as she sprung and caught another man in the thigh, blood following her blade as she pulled it from his muscle. She pirouetted away from him as he curled over his bleeding wound and seemed to dance out of the reach of another, her knife slipping from her fingers and gaining her distance from her attacker.

Couldn't aim to kill…not even to maim. These were still soldiers sworn to protect the innocent…she knew that. But still…there were more coming. The others she had felt, the ones hiding in the darkness of the trees, they had rushed their squad to assist, effectively doubling the ANBU numbers and slashing Sakura's small confidence in their chances.

One of them grabbed for her and with a sudden arc of her arm a new blade was pulled from her belt and she slid her razor-sharp edge across his palm, causing him to recoil and curse. " _Urgh_!" he cried, holding his bloody palm as his breath seethed behind that mask. "You bitch!"

No matter, her eyes were already on another, slipping around him as he charged her and focusing power into her arm. Sakura snatched the collar of his field vest, her muscles pulling tight as she wrenched him back and sent him hurling into his approaching squad. She slipped away further into the trees as they cursed after her, strictly adhering to their form of divide and dismantle. She looked at her weapon, the small dagger looking so very unassuming as it grazed the skin, opening long shallow cuts along her slashes. The blade itself was nothing special, but the slick salve lining the bottom of its sheath certainly was. High dose and fast acting muscle relaxer supplied by her other mentor. Nothing like a tranquilizer, she couldn't afford to miscalculate a dose and kill an ' _allied'_ ANBU – though it had been meant for the bandits – but it was something that would cut the curve of that adrenaline rush of battle and make them sloppy, easier to dodge, easier to predict…easier to subdue.

She wasn't going for power or show, she was smaller than these men and that made her fast between them…lots of little cuts added up quickly if placed correctly.

Naruto and Sasuke were almost in reach, almost through the entire squad's position, but her attention was suddenly pulled from before her. Something latched to her brain and rolled over the land like a wave building force before it crashed against the shore. Her heart sank, her gut clenched, and she searched desperately for the mask she had tried to remember. Thinking she found it, she kept him in her sights, waiting for that cresting wave of energy to break over them as they continued to dodge the advancing attacks. They couldn't have maintained the element of surprise for long, and these soldiers were very well trained.

It would only get harder from here.

She thought to Gaara, to god only knew where in the forest, and as that wave broke over their patch of trees she felt the air go thick and heavy, she felt a weight dropped on her shoulders, and she saw the same in the man she'd been watching. She _had_ been right…he could feel it too.

Gaara had finally joined the fight.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

He couldn't blame them, Gaara mused as his sand ripped through the air and darted between the two timid young men now stopped and cowering before the power of his beast. He hadn't told them of the ANBU squad, hadn't wanted them to worry, but he hadn't expected the ANBU to so directly attack _them_. Blades had flown from the thick foliage like birds scattering to the wind, only this flock was pointed at his team. It barely took thought to intercept the barrage, knowing precisely where the throws had come from. Close tabs were kept on the advancing team and he'd been waiting for them to strike, to get him distracted, to get him focused on others and off himself.

Did he have a choice?

His head suddenly surged with the pain of that ghastly cackle, and with a sudden weighted chill to his bones it forced him down to stop on the gnarled branches of those ancient trees. He cursed that twisted calamity in his head, always watching and always mocking. He'd heard the whispers seeping through the trees as they parted ways from Kakashi's team, the tempting beckons to just lay waste to them all…it would have been so easy. Much easier than this.

Gaara had pushed back against the will of the beast as best as he could, fighting himself as much as his monster. The more he beat that creature into submission the more he freed himself from it, the more he felt _human_. It had been Naruto that showed him his ways of egotistical arrogance were dangerous and he discovered fear in face of danger was a very human thing indeed, but still…he wasn't sure he'd ever get rightfully acquainted with it. Instead of giving in to the urge of self-preservation, however, he simply waited with waned patience for the ANBU to show themselves. He was sick of this long distance back and forth, he wanted to end this.

But to what end?

His eyes caught his team, first thing's first. "Yaoki! Korobi!" Gaara barked to the two still shaking in their shoes. They looked up at him, very clearly frightful, and he fought back the deep frown trying to pull down his lips. It was too perfect a reminder of exactly why he was even here, cornered in a foreign forest where he was supposed to die lost and forgotten to the world; he deserved this. "Run."

Yaoki looked desperately to his partner, still unaware of the knives caught in that writhing sand. Korobi had at least heard their captain. "What?" he muttered, confusion mixing with the fear in his eyes. It was then that he noticed Gaara hadn't much attention on the two of them, his focus lay past them…behind them. That's when he heard the footsteps, a large force quickly approaching, and he turned to face it. The familiar masks of Wind nation ANBU were unfamiliar sights in this distant forest and…wait, just what exactly was this?

The sand recoiled, retreating back to the defense of its master, and once freed from its iron grasp the affronting knives clattered to the ground. Yaoki and Korobi sucked in shocked breaths, both taking steps back from the gathering soldiers. Had those been meant for them?

"Gaara?" he questioned, his eyes darting back to his captain for a moment as he urged Yaoki to react. Something was wrong here, terribly wrong. He could practically see the tension spark and sizzle in the air.

"Just tell me this," a masked ANBU spoke, stepping into clear view, a twisted smile and dead hollow eyes hiding his true face. "Do you plan to make this difficult?"

"Don't I always?" Gaara replied, crossing his arms laxly over his chest as his sand writhed and seethed in the air around him, grain slipping over grain in a thundering chorus of hisses and snarls, like the voice of that beast itself. His unusual sense of calm in the midst of such a hellish calamity was always a disturbing sight.

Korobi shivered, deeply rooted fear welling up within him with just the precursors to Gaara's power…to the Shukaku's power. Just what were these ANBU _doing_ here? Make _what_ difficult?

"Now tell _me_ ," Gaara bartered, holding the wicked intent of his sand at bay for a moment longer. "My team," he began, nodding to Yaoki and Korobi as they flinched from the peering eyes of the ANBU. "They were just a distraction, weren't they? Leverage, a means to your end."

The ANBU shrugged, his mask tilting towards the two in question. They visibly swallowed as they froze in place, no longer able to tell if Gaara were the enemy or…or not. "You know how it goes, don't you, boys?"

No…no they didn't.

A sudden light erupted from the trees, the harsh white slicing through the branches and painting the battlefield in a confusing patchwork of bright light and dark shadow. Everyone turned to the disruption, their eyes finding the sky above the trees, finding the pulsating column of lightning tearing open the clouds. The following quake rocked the trees, a shock carrying static and spark, and Gaara felt his heart clench tight in his chest, the scar on his shoulder burning with the memory of the pain such an attack inflicted.

Chidori; blistering hot charges that could destroy anything in its path from inanimate matter to melting the flesh from bones. For a moment he was awed, unable to turn away from the pure vibrancy of that light, even the breeze following that shock held an almost mesmerizing tingle as it brushed against his face. He'd never seen such power behind the attack, not even when Sasuke had torn him open in that arena, this was someone else…this was Kakashi.

They'd been engaged.

 _Sakura_ …

"Run!" Gaara barked back to his team, snapping them from the blinding spectacle of such intense power. "Both of you! _Now_!" By the time his words reached their ears, his sand already had them. It yanked them back, tossing them to the trees, back toward Kakashi's team. They caught footing and glanced back to see the sand churning the air between themselves and the ANBU, more knives jutting from the mass of grains, and they needn't be told to run again.

Adrenaline pumped through their veins, throwing their steps through the trees into long strides on swift legs. They could hear battle behind them, they could hear it fade as they gained safety in distance, and they did the only thing they could; they searched for Kakashi and his team.

Gaara watched as they retreated, making sure they slipped away unmarred, and once out of sight he turned full attention to the squad of men. More had appeared from the trees, looking more like a battalion with each passing moment, if he could just get them subdued, knock them out and detain them…but how to get them back? How to get himself back? He'd never spared the lives of his assassins before, was there a procedure to this? Gaara cursed as the sand danced independently around him, sheltering him from the enemy onslaught as it always had, and he decided he had no choice but to figure out the details later.

He used a fist to push his chin to the side, his neck cracking and his knuckles popping as he did so, and he took a moment to roll the tension from his shoulder. He needed quiet from that cackle in his mind to properly take these men down without being tempted to maim and to kill…to paint the forest red like all the other times before.

The ANBU surrounded him in a well-coordinated and tight unit and, in response, he summoned his strength and surged his sand outward, breaking their form and sending them retreating into the trees and away from the deadly energy that riled beast sprung forth. He'd spare them as best he could, but – though crude – he knew the demon was right; death was so much simpler.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Sakura felt her back hit the trunk of her chosen tree, a gnarled thing draped in moss and hanging tangles of roots and vines, perfect hiding places. She clutched her knife, her _last_ knife, and listened intently to the trees around her. She could hear her team, Naruto cursing the soldiers and always keeping them busy, Sasuke being tactile and methodical to his approach, swift and precise execution, and Kakashi needn't any attention, he could take these ANBU one handed and on his own if he had to. But through the familiar sounds of battle from her team, she heard the hard crunch of enemy footsteps on crumbling bark.

She held her breath, coating her blade in a thick layer of the relaxant, and moved in. Like a cat on the ground, she chose her steps carefully and quietly, gently pushing vines and hanging mossy roots from her face. The ANBU had seen her disappear into the foliage, she had seen to that, and he had followed her in here just as she intended. She was almost upon him now, having taken a shallow breath to hold as she moved in for the final, silent approach.

"Come in!" the radio around her neck burst to life with a panicked voice. "This is Yaoki!"

Sakura jumped in fright as her hand whipped up to smother the mic, almost forgetting she even had a radio and cursed as the ANBU whipped around to face her. She tackled him through the roots while she still had some surprise, pushing with sudden reinforced strength to send them tumbling to the branch below. Her unexpected strength had baffled him, giving her an edge that wouldn't last long. She pressed the receiver around her neck, speaking coarsely. "This is Sakura, we've been engaged!"

"As were we," Korobi's voice spoke in response. "What's your location?"

"Got it!" Sakura called out through the radio as she danced away from a slash of the ANBU's blade. She spun around him and, in a fluid motion within her veins, her chakra surged in her feet; kicking the man from the tree with a force that had him crying out in shock, only to continue through her blood as it traveled; gathering then in her arm as she turned and slipped a flare from her belt, popping the cap with quick fingers, and hurling the smoking signal to the sky. It broke the tree's high canopy and continued higher, arching over the battlefield as it crested before falling back to the forest below.

Sakura kept moving, never stopping, and slipped back into the cover provided by the thick growth of vegetation that choked this tree. She used the cover to pause, to search the forest for their incoming energy and…there it was, faint and coming closer…but they were alone.

Before she could even think her fingers pressed the receiver, her words spoken swiftly as she tried to hide the shake in her throat. "Where's Gaara?" The sound of battle echoed through the trees around her but the radio remained silent. Seconds could feel like hours out here, could feel like an eternity. "Yaoki! Korobi!" she barked. " _Where_ is he?"

An ANBU landed on her tree, searching the cover for that voice he'd just heard and she hissed a curse to herself, the radio would only give her away again and he already knew she somewhere close. She burst from the trees, shoving him to the ground and straddling him in the dazed moment that followed. Hoisting him up by the collar of his field vest, Sakura delivered a quick and hard jab to the mask that covered his face, splintering the plaster as well as his nose. His head lolled back, arms went limp at his side, and he was done. She stood, letting him fall to the branch and sit the rest of this fight out in the safety of a little nap.

"He told us to run," Yaoki finally spoke over the radio. Sakura felt her heart sink in her chest. Of course, he did. "They came from nowhere, he just said to run." Her hand went to her throat, her feet already sending her back to the heart of the battle, but Naruto took over the channel before she could speak.

"And you _listened_ to him?" he growled, the pained grunt of his opponent could just barely be heard over the crackle of the channel. "He's your captain and you just _abandon_ him?"

Sakura looked up higher into the canopy above her, through the crisscrossing branches to where she could see a flash of bright color amongst the dark green. Naruto's jacket was always an easy thing to find.

"What were we supposed to _do_?" Korobi retorted. "What _could_ we do? They were our own ANBU…"

Naruto had made sure to include his scoff over the radio as he threw another opponent to the forest floor. Sakura slipped to the side as he fell passed her, crying out as he failed to catch himself on anything to break his fall. " _You_ guys? Probably nothing."

"Naruto," Sakura interjected over the radio, waving an arm over her arm above her head. "Down here!" She could see him stop and look down, a wave to show he'd seen her. "Go," she instructed. "We've got this, you have to go." He didn't respond right away, obviously torn between helping his brother in demonic arms and staying with his team…with his family. She paid this no mind, already clicking the receiver again. "Yaoki, Korobi, turn around. Intercept with Naruto and show him the way to where you were attacked. Get him there as fast as you can," she urged desperately, a yelp cutting off the transmission as she was jumped by an opposing man, only her smaller stature and quicker steps to keep her out of his hands.

"But…" Korobi started. "The ANBU."

Her blood boiled, her face twisted into a sneering frown of discontent. As she chucked her remaining knife towards the advancing enemy, Sakura turned and fled, gaining distance to plan her next attacks. She barked into the receiver at her neck. "The _ANBU_ are not your team, _Gaara_ is! You don't abandon your team! Now hurry!"

There was a pause in the radio chatter, Sakura only able to hear the swiftly approaching footsteps of the ANBU on her tail, before the timid voice of the sand soldiers spoke through the static. "Right…You're right."

It would have to do. Sakura ran, keeping her distance from the perusing man as best she could in the thick trees, and found the harshness of the wind against her eyes had made them water. She wiped a tear from her eyes as she flew through the forest, frowning and confused as she felt the wetness on her palm…what?

Why had it broken her so much, to send Naruto instead of herself? Why had she fought back such an urge to show him the way to the other battleground where Gaara faced his threat alone? Why had she felt such displeasure sending Korobi and Yaoki and not herself? She pushed the feeling from her mind, burying it under the immediate need and necessity of the matter at hand. Though she hadn't seen Naruto leave the battlefield, she knew he had, could feel that chaotic energy seeping away into the forest, and she thanked whatever god that was listening for Naruto's sense of haste.

But she had her own haste to make.

The ANBU was chasing her from the battlefield, clearly unhappy with the orders she'd given against their plan, and she couldn't allow him to separate her from her team. With every passing step she lost the safety of what few numbers she had on her side and figured this was the man's plan. Sakura had no choice but to turn and face him.

So she did.

Stopping quickly and staring him down, she was painfully aware of her lack of weapons, only her fists and her brain to keep her safe now. He observed her for a moment, perhaps wondering if she'd been leading him into a trap…but sadly for Sakura, no…they were alone in these trees, far from the immediate aid of her team.

He rushed her, coming in low and looking to knock her into the thick trunk of the tree. She dodged, trying to topple his balance and give her distance again, but he was a little quicker than his bulkier counterparts. The more she tried to slip away the closer he kept her, always on the defensive, never a chance to make a blow to stagger him back, he'd been watching the way she fought it seemed, knew about that sucker punch trump card she kept up her sleeve. Her eyes settled on that mask, that stagnant and unmoving expression with a twisted smile, and for the first time noted the color of the paint, the shape of the mouth and chin…was this him?

A fist came for her and she ducked, staggering back until she collided with the tree trunk, her hands fighting desperately with the collar of her shirt. He closed in, drawing his weapon for attack and – while she still had some distance from the man – she ripped the chain from her shirt. It was a small thing, but the urgency of her movement caught his attention. It wasn't a weapon so he almost dismissed it but he paused, taking a second to glance at what she could possibly pull from her shirt to defend herself, and it was the curious nature of the object that caught his eye.

A necklace?

There was a low chuckle that echoed from behind that mask. "What is _this_ supposed to be?"

Sakura swallowed, hoping she had been right about her presumptions, and spoke in the straightest voice she could muster. Her adrenaline shook in her throat, barely kept in check, the exertion pounded blood through her heart and through her lungs, a painful throb with every beat, but it was the worry she struggled with most. "You know what it is."

He drew back a step, seeming content to put up with her distraction if it meant making a fool of her. "My, my," he jeered. "Look who's suddenly so tough."

"You know what it is," she stated again, changing her look to a softer, more analytical one. "You're not like the rest of them," she said, her voice a little softer too. This made his shoulders tense, something she'd been actively looking for, and in response, she gave him a queer sort of look. "You're like me."

He scoffed, very much expected, and stifled a laugh. "Like _you_? What on earth could you possibly –"

"You can feel it too." Her words interrupted his own and he didn't seem inclined to finish them. "You've been tracking him for the group, haven't you? Anything like me and I bet you can feel that power from miles away. I saw," she said lightly. "The way you anticipated Kakashi before his Chidori even struck, the way such pulses of power pulled your focus. I bet you're even here as a warning in case the other group fails." She took a step closer, holding up the little glass sphere once again. "Go ahead, take a closer look."

Though she couldn't see his face, she was damn sure of the moment when his eyes really looked at that pendant. He changed. She eyed the black holes of his mask, peering through to the hidden gaze that lurked beneath.

"You know what this is."

There was a quiet, but sharp, intake of breath. He stepped back but only just a step, and even though his face was hidden she could see the realization ripple over his figure. She held back a sigh of relief...if she had been wrong, if it had been anyone else, her distraction would have warranted no merit for thought.

"If I were you," Sakura started again, her tone dropping to something a little darker, and more confident. "I would back up."

"Where did you get that?!" he demanded, taking a threatening step forward.

Her response was a quick one, to break the chain from around her neck and hold the sphere tightly in her palm, her nails digging into the glass, pressing it to the breaking point. "I said _back_ _up_!" The sudden harshness of her voice seemed to catch him off guard. "Get back," she repeated slowly. "Or I break it."

"Oh, yeah?" he laughed, the challenge clear in his voice. "And what happens then?"

Sakura merely pinched a brow in response, her lips pulling into a serious line as she spoke through clenched teeth. "What do you _think_ happens then?"

"How did you get that?" he demanded again, she could tell he was eyeing her a little more cautiously now. Good.

Sakura shrugged. "He gave it to me," she said simply, the quirk of her brow the soft smirk to her lips daring him to play with the information as he pleased. "You think he didn't know you were coming _here_? After _us_? Thought you were so sneaky, huh? This is insurance," she said with a grin. "To make sure you don't do anything stupid."

He chuckled at this. "Oh, I see. The weakest of you gets the beacon, of course, he'd assume you first to fall."

First…to fall? She was inclined to point out the trail of unconscious men she'd left in her wake before _he'd_ arrived, inclined to make an example of all those that had fallen at _her_ hands in this fight. "Assumptions aren't very becoming of you," she spat back, her nose wrinkling as it twitched. "Throw down that knife and we'll see who's the weakest."

He complied, much to Sakura's honest surprise, and dropped the blade at his feet. His stance widened, his fists raised in both defense and perfect strike position, and before she could properly prepare, he rushed her.

A right hook was easy enough to anticipate, easy enough to dodge, as was the countering left as she stuffed the necklace into her field belt. True, he was faster than his teammates had been, taking practicality over brute strength against a rather unassuming opponent such as herself. But he'd seen her take his men down, knew she needed a different approach. She cursed under breath as she continued to block and dodge his fluid attacks, never a break in movement to give her an opening…it was like sparing with Sasuke compared to Naruto, brain over brawn. He'd grabbed for her, snagging the front of her shirt and pulling her close as he sharply raised his knee for her gut. Sakura pushed back as best she could, still being struck and losing her breath, and as she tried to gain distance she misjudged her steps. Her right ankle flared with pain and her leg almost crumpled under her. She yelped out at the sudden pain, curling over the weakness it caused it her, and her opponent saw this as a rightful opportunity. He swung a leg up for a kick to the head as she curled over, but she only ducked lower, swinging her left leg out and reinforcing the blow.

Her superb control not only made her stronger but faster as well.

His foot was swept out from under him and he was knocked to his back. Like a panther on its prey, Sakura quickly spun on him and pounced. He surged forward, intent to throw her off, but she pushed him down, throwing his shoulders hard into the branch under them. He huffed out a groan, the breath knocked from his chest, his back would bruise, as would his lungs probably. She surged power into her right arm, feeling it swell and pull tight in her muscles, and even in the faint darkness below the canopy, the green glow of the chakra in her veins was evident. She went in for the blow, aiming square for the center of that mask, another swift blow to unconsciousness, but she was surprised by his quick actions. Before her fist could do damage, he grabbed it, diverting the flow of her energy away from his head and, instead, down through his hand to his arm. His elbow hit the branch and she felt the bark crack underneath it, felt the bone shiver as the force went through it, and he seemed to growl in pain before altogether throwing her off of him. He continued forward but she refused to be pinned, crawling back and gaining her feet as he snatched for her.

He stopped suddenly, that same falter in focus she'd seen in him before, and as the crest of some looming wave waited to break over them, she was caught in it too. A surge of energy burst through the trees, thick and palpable in the wind that carried it, and it weighed heavy on the shoulders and on the lungs, seeming to thicken the very air they breathed. Both she and the ANBU paused to stare at the vacant trees of its origin, their finely tuned senses able to catch the hellish fire and smoky toxic breath of some unknown malevolent force. For a moment, she thought she could truly smell the smoke…smell the raging blaze.

Sakura sucked in a quiet gasp, suddenly recognizing this sizzle in the air and fiery scent it placed in her brain. Naruto…it was that foxes power. He'd made it to the battleground, he _must_ have. Her eyes hardened then, finding her opponent as well as her chance. She grabbed him by the collar, pulling him down till his head hit the branch and before he could collect himself – which proved very quickly for this man – Sakura spun atop him fisted a hand in his hair. It was sweaty and gritty with dirt, evidence of a hard few days on the road. She surged power into her arm, throwing his face into the bark once, twice, and on the third time, the mask finally cracked, the blood from a broken nose splattering forth and leaving the mossy branch speckled in bright red droplets.

She let his head fall to the ground and, for good measure, she struck the base of his skull with a well-placed blow. Subsequently, he went limp, his shoulders going lax as his whole body relaxed underneath her.

Sakura sighed in relief, a faint smirk pulling at her lips as she took a steadying breath to quiet her nerves. He wouldn't be a bother to her for a while, she could get back to her team without his persistent badgering. She moved off of him, her quick fingers working over his utility belt to snatch whatever might prove useful. Using some field rope to properly subdue him, she secured him to the branch, intending to fetch him later. She permitted herself to the rest of his knives, finding a fine looking danger that seemed more ornamental than anything, like a sort of medal or family heirloom. Still running high on adrenaline and anger she was desperately tempted to keep it, as much to leave him weaponless as to leave an impression…but, no. Field supplies were easily replaced, treasures like this simply were not.

She rolled her eyes at herself, letting out a heavy and exasperated sigh. She placed the dagger back in the belt, securing it well, and spoke sharply to the unconscious man. "Don't make me regret this."

A quick pause to sooth her ankle, to lessen the flare of pain it brought about when she least expected it…when it was least convenient. She cursed the man that did this to her and, although knowing she could manage a field soldiers life with such an annoyance, it irked her to know she'd never be the same again because of him. He was long dead but she'd always be reminded of what he did…what he tried to do. But she needn't be reminded long, the soothing power of her chakra banished the pain and ushered in a sense of pleasant numbness and with that, she was on her feet again, back to the aid of Sasuke and Kakashi.

She felt a shallow smile pull at her lips as she flew back through the trees. Now that Naruto was with Gaara, the end of this whole mess was finally in sight.

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Gaara gritted his teeth together, trying with failing might to subdue the boiling anger within him. It had been so much easier before, when he just relented and let it wash over him, let the wickedness of that creature bathe him in enemy blood, deliver him to victory. Now, he simply felt heavy, felt burdened like never before, and the crumbling barrier of sand only made it worse.

Fucking water… _this_ is why he never liked leaving the desert.

He had to admit, the ANBU were getting innovative, getting smart with their approach. Never one to like admitting to weaknesses, he'd wondered when they would figure out that he had such a kink in his armor…literally. He did his best to will his sand to remain strong, but the weight of the water was too much for the individual grains and, unable to support themselves, the structure as a whole would soon collapse.

The beast cackled at him, mocking his foolishness for taking on these soldiers alone and allowing them to live. It sneered and begged for blood, for Gaara to slip and let this incessant madness loose upon the world yet again. It was the usual pitch; they all abandoned him – his team, his allies, his own ANBU – none of them cared, no one came to his aid. They just sat back at let it happen, simply glad that he'd let them do so, and were content to watch his demise from the sidelines.

He loathed that creature, that sickening way it took whatever hope or goodness he could possibly cling to and turned it against him. Even Sakura…even those stubborn and worried eyes she'd turn on him and been twisted against him. She'd left him out here, the beast insisted, sick of his presence, sick of his touch, wishing he would just disappear. God, how he hoped the beast was wrong.

A pained grunt reached his ear, followed by another that caused him to look up and see one of the ANBU soldiers flying into another, knocking them both from the branches. Confused, he followed the course of the tossed man and saw a familiar sight.

Naruto stood at the edge of the battlefield, Korobi and Yaoki standing at his flanks. There was a mad grin on the man's face, a devilishly wild gleam in his eyes as he spied the odds of this battle. He cracked his knuckles, a clear beckon for the other ANBU to try and take him, and to Gaara's honest surprise, it seemed his two young subordinates had indeed found some bravery in themselves.

"What is this?" one of the ANBU yelled.

"Naruto!" Gaara interrupted, earning the blonds attention over the masked man. "What are you doing here? I told them to leave!"

Naruto only laughed. "You think I'd let _you_ have all the fun?" he implored. "Not a chance!"

Korobi nodded at Naruto's side. "Sakura sent us back," he called out. "We couldn't just leave you to this!"

The ANBU captain charged forward, intending on meeting this distraction face to face. "Don't be stupid," he yelled. "We've got you outnumbered five to one!"

Naruto simply shrugged as he threw up his hands with the flash of a sign. The air around him seemed to spin, a sudden vortex that flapped open his jacket and caused the two at his side to take smart steps back. A tension built faster than Gaara had ever seen in Naruto and before he could even properly read into it, something broke with such a snapping jolt that even the persistence of that beast in his head shied away from it. Sudden bursts of smoke appeared in the trees, the breeze wafting it across the battlefield like a haze that only parted to reveal an army of clones perched throughout the branches. Naruto's signature devious and toothy grin was evident on all their faces as was that excited and energetic gleam in his eyes. Gaara was shocked speechless at the fluidity he'd managed such a fleet of clones, by the sudden ease he could produce such a one-man army. It was easy to forget how much of the fox's power had been sealed away at his birth, what secrets were still kept inside of him.

"Outnumber us?" Naruto jeered as he stared the ANBU down, his grin turning into a daring smirk. "Oh, I don't think you do."

Gaara used his chance, the attention of the ANBU suddenly turned on the oncoming siege, and he broke the restraints keeping him in place, the remaining power he had in his sand surging outward and freeing him of the weighted sludge they'd turned it into. With the others of the squad entirely engaged with Naruto, Gaara was free to confront the leader of this team, free to attack as he pleased without needing to restrain how his sand chose to defend him. He let his armor fall from his skin, shedding it as he walked with even steps up to the captain of the ANBU squad. Naruto and his clones surrounded them in the canopy, Yaoki and Korobi fought against the enemy with their growing mastery of the puppets; there was battle all around them and there was nowhere to go.

"Wait," he pleaded, taking shaken steps back as he saw the tide of their battle shifting. "Please…they were just orders!" He turned and tried to run but Gaara used what little dry sand he had left to trip him. The ANBU turned as he fell to the bark below, a knife appearing in his hands as he threw it at Gaara. He snatched it from the air quickly enough, saving his sand the difficulty of doing so as it slithered heavily along the branch after him. It clumped along the bark, unable to bear its weight to rise to his defense, but Gaara didn't always need its help.

Gaara tossed the knife to the side, using his other hand to block a blow the desperate man had tried to land. There was shock and fear clear in his voice as he tried to scamper away, perhaps he hadn't realized that Gaara wasn't entirely inept at close combat. Even if he couldn't spar with anyone he still read plenty of material, still trusted his instincts and his quick reactions.

"No," the man gasped, turning to the aid of his team only to find none. Naruto was keeping them busy in their own battles. "I don't understand…your sand-"

"Is just sand," Gaara finished for him. He stood over the man as he cowered on the branch before him, so suddenly trembling with fear when the misfortune pointed his way. "I am not helpless without it, but make no mistake…with it; I can do anything."

The small tendril of sand coiled around the captain's collar, hoisting him up and hanging him in the air. "Please!" he choked out, the collar of his shirt pressing harshly into his neck. "Have mercy," he begged.

"Mercy?" Gaara stepped forward, a casual hand lifting the mask from the man's face as he shook in the sand's grip. He could practically see that frantic heartbeat in the man's throat, he could almost taste the fear in the air as he removed the mask of secrecy to reveal his true face…the one he couldn't hide in his normal life, the one he couldn't change. "When you return to the council," Gaara spoke gravely, forcing the man to look him squarely in the eyes. "Be sure to tell them of the _mercy_ you saw here today."

The ANBU was ripped off into the trees, crying out in vain as he tried to pry himself from the sand's grip. Even such a tiny amount, even those few hundred grains left unwashed by the water of their attacks was all he needed. It sent the ANBU captain careening into another, only to continue on and knock another from the trees, sending more flying into each other and leaving their delirious and unconscious bodies behind to deal with later. He cracked his knuckles, silencing the voice screaming for bloodshed and revenge for what the ANBU had tried to do, and instead turned his senses to the forest, to where Naruto had come from.

More so than any ability to perceive her over such distance, Gaara felt that beacon of his sand as it called out to him. He could tell that it was moving, which meant Sakura was still moving too. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief, thankful she hadn't met any serious ill intent from the hands of his country's men and, for a moment, Korobi's words replayed in his mind.

 _Sakura sent us back_ …

He almost sneered at the creature in his head, shoving its face in the evidence of its lies, it was wrong after all…Sakura hadn't forgotten about him, hadn't grown sick of him, she had been worried…just as he thought she would be. A shaken breath pulled him from his thoughts, suddenly aware of how a new and strange feeling blossomed to life within him, both heavy and weightless, both warming and chilling at the same time.

This distance was suddenly too great, he needed to end this to see her well again, to properly thank her for sending help back his way…it had probably saved his ass had he the humility to admit it.

"Naruto!" he called out into the trees, almost instinctively knowing which of these dozens of clones the real man was. One of them stopped, turning to him and waiting for him to continue. "Let's end this," he insisted, the feeling winding in his gut matching that smirk on the blonde's lips.

"You got it! We've got a bandit settlement to raid!"

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Sakura stood across a small clearing from Gaara, silently studying him as they waited in the quiet of the forest. The wind was mild, making the creeping chill of the night a little more bearable, and the rustling quake of the leaves in their branches filled the air between the tweets and chirps of the birds. She had leaned herself up against a tree, her feet sore and her ankle still flaring with pain every so often, and she couldn't help but smirk, though she tried to hide it. She didn't think she'd ever forget that sight when they first regrouped after the ANBU fight. He'd been positively soaked, his clothes hanging off him with the added weight of water, his hair plastered in strange and obscure angles from the wind as they raced through the forest to meet them, and the fact that he looked none too pleased about it was what initially made her laugh.

She hadn't meant to actually laugh at him in front of everyone, but truthfully she was just happy to see that his sourness was the only negativity the ANBU inflicted him with. They'd gathered the ANBU and detained them for the remainder of their mission. The bandits, however convenient for their misguided cause, were a real threat to the people out here and even in the midst of this mess they couldn't be overlooked.

If she were being honest with herself, the attack on the bandits had gone so well it was almost boring, especially so after their fight with the ANBU. The bandits were untrained and sloppy, dull-witted with hardly any sense of strategy. After an easy ambush on the hideout and quick scout of the area for any stragglers, the local powers that be were called in to decide the fate of the lawbreakers. As for the ANBU, the team had returned to camp only to find them well kept by a clone left to guard them, a rather angered looking sand clone of their previous target that seemed to lord over the men sat restrained on the ground.

With their weapons confiscated after a thorough search – in which Sakura had pocketed the ornamental dagger off her previous attacker – they weren't very worried of the threat these men posed. Especially with Gaara watching over the exchange from the back, keeping a good distance and a watchful eye. As Kakashi spoke to the ANBU captain, bartering terms for safe returns home on all fronts, a man approached Sakura. More so than the man himself, Sakura noticed the sudden tension of the force that washed over the camp. She waved a hand behind her back to Gaara as if to say; _it's okay, I've got this_. It hardly seemed to calm him at the time, and he still seemed on edge over whatever conversation he'd observed between them.

The man was one of the taller ones, one of the leaner ones, and given the sore roll to his shoulders as he approached, and the deep purple bruising across his nose; she felt confident enough to identify him even without the mask. Before he could even speak as he stopped in front of her, Sakura had pulled the dagger from her belt, flipping in her palm to present him with the intricately carved hilt.

He had paused then, eyeing the knife a moment before cautiously taking it from her patient hand. _"I had intended to leave it,"_ she confessed with a shrug _. "I only needed the others. This one looked important."_

" _I know,"_ he had said simply in response, his voice sounded considerably different when not muffled behind that mask. He had been younger than she expected him to be, too _. "And thank you –_ he smacked the hilt against his open palm as if for emphasis _– It is important."_

She had stirred in her stance, a little uncomfortable with speaking casually with a man that had tried to take her down not even a day prior. _"What is it?"_ she had asked, feeling the need to fill the silence. It had been his grandfather's, she discovered quickly, a medal of honor for his bravery in the service to the country, only passed on to him when he'd died. Those bruised and swollen eyes had found Gaara then, and it was a whisper seethed passed his teeth that made Sakura's breath hitch in her throat.

" _Five years ago he'd let that_ beast _out to destroy everything,"_ he'd accused _. "I wasn't the only one to lose someone to that monster, and we won't be the last."_

" _But –"_ she had countered, her voice turning insistent. _"That wasn't_ him _. Don't you understand that?"_

He had merely shrugged, again rolling his shoulder in protest to the deep bruising she'd given him _. "I guess not."_

" _A child,"_ she had muttered to him, unable to understand how some had no room for forgiveness, for empathy to the pain of others _. "He was just a child."_

The man paused, his eyes drifting back to Gaara again and, for a tense moment, they seemed to lock gazes. _"I see no difference anymore."_ His eyes found hers again and there was such steadfast sincerity to them that she didn't even second guess the hand he placed stiffly on her shoulder _. "Look, you're smart, you've got guts and you got skill, hell…you kicked my ass and I'm damn sore to admit it. Just don't be stupid, watch your back."_

He had left then, joining back into the ranks of his squad as they prepared for their defeated return home. Kakashi had made it clear, Gaara was to return safely to the desert and return word of the team's safe arrival. Otherwise, he'd tell Tsunade of what the Suna high council was doing with their soldiers and see how well she reacted to the mistreatment of allied men. Not so much a threat to the ANBU as it was a threat to the council, hopefully, it would prove a temporary deterrent until Gaara established himself as more of an asset to the needs of his people.

But now with the bandit's thwarted and the ANBU preparing to depart, there wasn't much time for goodbyes. They had to make headway back toward home while they still had daylight, but even so, Gaara had found a spare moment to slither his sand along the ground, unnoticed by all, and pull at the soles of her shoes. She'd slipped away after him unnoticed in the commotion of the ANBU gathering their things, there had been plenty of them sent on the mission, after all, had to make sure all were present and accounted for one last time.

But now that she stood across suppressing that laugh – at his own expense, he was sure – he just looked annoyed. "What?" he demanded, his brow pulling together over his azure eyes.

"Nothing," Sakura sighed in response, he merely rolled his eyes. "But I'm glad you're all right…I was worried," she muttered, her eyes drifting to the ground for a moment.

He only shrugged, looking down to the foot she favored she as leaned against the tree. "Your ankle still bothers you?"

She looked at the ankle in questioned and tapped her heel against the tree, seeing how her tendon decided to absorb the shock of impact. It only protested a little. "Not always, it's usually just stiff every now and again. It'll be fine," she said lightly, looking back up at him. She took a breath to speak, but his words were sudden and unexpected, effectively silencing her.

"The ANBU was right," he said as he looked to the side, unable to squarely meet her eyes. She waited for him to continue. "You're smarter and more skilled than anyone expects of you…and you _did_ kick his ass." She couldn't help it, the shy – almost awkward grin following his compliment just couldn't be suppressed. "You should be watching yourself."

Sakura paused to look up at him, wondering just how much of her conversation with the man Gaara had actually heard and gave him a quizzical sort of look. "But, not around you, right?"

Though she couldn't hear it, that beast chuckled low and quietly in his mind, finding her hopeful words so very endearing. How naive she was to the creature, how delightfully and temptingly naive. Gaara drew a breath, slow and steady as he stifled that voice in his brain. "No," he managed to respond. "No, I suppose not."

Sakura nodded, smiling at him as she pushed herself from the tree. She took a few cautious steps on her right foot but seemed happy with how the pain had dulled with some rest. She listened for the sounds of the others in the forest, still able to hear all that commotion she'd slipped away from. "I should probably get back." Gaara merely nodded. "Just…" she began, trying to find whatever words had been so ready to string from her lips. "I hope you get back okay." Well…that definitely wasn't it.

He paused before nodding. "I will," he said, his tone of voice always so assured. "You'll be careful?"

She smiled as she nodded, trying to look assuring through all the bumps and bruises she'd acquired on this trip. "As always." She walked up to him fully then, fluid strides that only ended when she could pull him into a hug. He seemed more prepared for it this time, less stiff in his movements and less rigidity to his shoulders. "I'll see you," she promised simply, feeling the pressure to return to her awaiting team. They wouldn't go much longer without noticing her absence. "And tell Temari I expect her to write to me, okay? I'll be waiting."

"Okay," he agreed, letting her slip from his grasp as she pulled back, turning those bright eyes up to him and basking him one last time in that radiant smile she somehow saw him worthy of. So here it was again, the goodbyes that he found so strangely difficult. He'd only just been able to be in her presence again and it was already time to part ways. Too soon, it felt, much too soon.

"Sakura?!" Naruto's voice boomed from beyond the trees. "Come on, it's time to go!"

She quickly turned to call out back to him. "Coming!" she yelled into the trees through a cupped hand. There was a bitter edge to her voice as she spoke. "I had to pee, God!" Turning back to Gaara to let out a nervous little chuckle as she fiddled with her fingers. "Sorry," she muttered. "I…I should go." He nodded and waited patiently as she began taking steps toward the camp. She waved him a goodbye, an odd sort of smile on her face as she did so, and with a nod in return, she seemed satisfied with their parting of ways.

He wasn't, not at all, but he knew he'd see her again. It would only be a matter of time.

From the trees, she heard as she joined her team, listened as the ANBU departed and felt the growing distance she gained as the team fled to the east, back toward home. She'd return home safely, he knew that, but he didn't yet know what kind of life awaited him back in the desert city…a lot of powerful people expected him to be dead. He didn't expect they'd take kindly to his face showing up with the mission report.

No matter, he had no choice.

Gaara soon returned to the company of his team, instructing them to move on for home. As much as the forest could be secluding and convenient to disappear into, he still yearned for the barren beauty of his sands, for the way the setting sun set his world ablaze in breathtaking spectacles of color. The endless expanse of sky looking down over an ancient world shared only with him and those strong enough and smart enough to survive, that's what he yearned to get back to. It was practically the only thing worth going back to. Though…maybe not.

His two subordinates both seemed eager to return to the city after such an ordeal, but much to Gaara's surprise, they had lost that edge and that hesitance they had been shrouded with on their journey here. They were simply more relaxed, eagerly speaking with one another about the events of the mission. Even throwing some words back his way as he paced behind them on the trail. Perhaps his dreams of forgiveness and of becoming a necessity to his people weren't as farfetched as that voice and plenty others would have him believe. He hoped so, at least.

It had been a long way on the road until sundown when they stopped for camp in the scattered forest bordering the desert. In the shelter of the trees, the two had built a fire while Gaara kept silent watch from distance branches. He'd been ignoring their quiet conversation until he'd heard Sakura's name arise. So sweet, they had said, unexpectedly warm and inviting, even to strangers the likes of themselves. Korobi had chuckled as he asked Yaoki if he'd heard the ANBU men, so many of them sore not only in body but also in pride after their encounter with her in the trees. Gaara had smirked at this, remembering well how a few of the ANBU had thrown glares and as well as bewildered glances her way. They hadn't expected her agility, hadn't expected her strength and extent of control.

It was Yaoki that had paused, looking thoughtfully into the flames of their campfire. "She was pretty, huh?" he muttered to his friend. Korobi had nodded.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Sure was."

Gaara shifted in his seat against the trunk of the tree on which he sat, reaching briefly into a pocket kept safely on his gourd strap. He retrieved a small piece of photo paper, holding it in the light of the moon through the canopy. The penmanship scribbled on the back was like second nature to him now and he'd quickly lost track of how many times he'd read over the simple address. Flipping the paper he stared at the photo that he'd kept safe and secret ever since she'd permitted him to. He'd given that face of hers hours of his attention when he sat alone during the long nights, waiting for the sun to come to mark another day, he'd pondered over everything she'd said to him that he could remember, turning it over in his head until he was sure he'd looked at it from every plausible angle.

Still, he studied that face again, somehow it seemed different now. The words of his team sounded in his head again, suddenly ringing a familiar bell. He recalled the southern wall, when they sat in their secluded company for hours before her team arrived to take her back, recalled the little note left to him in his food.

 _Pretty little thing, isn't she?_

Those bright and confident emerald eyes stared up at him from that photo and – even if only to himself – he had to admit that, yes, she definitely was.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


	3. Installment 2

Follow the Sun, Excerpts in Time

Installment 2

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

"Sasuke, no!" Sakura begged, her voice breaking in her throat and her eyes blurring painfully with her tears. "Please!" She was keeping pace with him along the moonlit street, though he didn't seem inclined to stop. " _Sasuke_!" she called out again, reaching out for his sleeve to force him to hear her. Her fingers had barely touched the fabric before he flinched away from her, the anger behind the quick movement causing her to recoil as well.

Those dark onyx eyes turned to her then, those mysterious depths she'd fallen so hard for. Those same eyes she'd dreamt of since childhood, God…was she loosing this for good?

She pushed passed the lump in her throat, passed the way that quietly burning fire in his eyes made her want to shrink back. "You don't have to do this," she urged him, a hand wiping a defiant tear from her cheek.

Her heart raced painfully in her chest, just as it had been ever since she spied him wandering the streets at this hour, with his field bag packed and ready to go. She'd nearly choked on her gasp of shock, her feet sprinting out from under her before she could even think. She knew he had heard her approach, she'd been calling to him after all, but he didn't break stride or even turn to her. He only continued on towards the outer limits of the city, to the great wall that protected this place and, she was sure, to somewhere far beyond that.

"Yes, I do, Sakura," he answered simply, the deep and even chill of his voice sending a shiver down her back. "I have to."

She shook her head, unable to understand his words, refusing to hear them. "It's crazy, it's suicide on your own," she muttered through trembling lips as she pursued him.

Sasuke paused, looking over at her in a strange sort of way, something so segregated and analytical that didn't feel at all right after all the time they'd known each other. "What would you have me _do_? Let him _get away_ with it?"

" _Forgive_ him!" Sakura exclaimed. "Grieve and move on! Don't waste your life chasing something that keeps you depressed!"

He scoffed, turning his back on her again and waving a dismissing hand her way. "You don't understand. He didn't slaughter _your_ family…didn't murder _your_ parents."

"Sasuke, please, you don't deserve this," she tried, reaching out a hand again, in vain – she knew, but what else could she do? "Don't do this to yourself."

"Just stay out of my business, you don't know what I need."

"I love you…" She felt her jaw freeze in place, her breath catching suddenly in her throat, and – as Sasuke paused and turned, something brighter finally showing in those beautiful dark eyes – she felt a spark of hope flare to life in her heart, again…how long had it been since she'd felt that? "I love you," she found herself repeating, the words slipping from her lips without thought. "Please," she whispered. "I'd do anything for you. Just tell me what you need."

He turned back to her then, closing the space between them with slow and casual steps. "You want to help me, Sakura?" he asked, a sudden smoothness to his voice that hadn't been there before. It made her breath hitch in her throat and her hands shake and, as much as her heart seemed to skip excitedly in her chest when he tilted up her chin to look him squarely in the eyes; she felt in her gut that something was wrong. "You love me?"

Her voice died in her throat then, only able to nod in return. Sasuke's lips pulled back into a shallow grin, something devious behind it that normally wasn't there. Sakura cursed the mark on his neck, its wicked influence seeping deeper into his mind. This wasn't truly him, not entirely…it just couldn't be.

"Good," he cooed, the fingers at her jaw slipping back to thread through her hair. It should have felt much nicer than it did, and the grip placed on her locks was all at once locked tight and painful against her scalp, his knuckles pressing into the base of her skull. She yelped in surprise, unable to help as her hands instinctively shot back to free herself from the iron grip. Memories bubbled up within an instant; the hot sun and stiflingly still air, something grabbing her and smashing her head into the sandstone walls, all those people scattering as she was dragged…

The voice seething words in her ear snapped her back. "Then stay out of my way."

She didn't have time to stop the burst of his chakra from scattering her thoughts, just one moment of pressure and it all goes black with a well-placed blow like that. Though fast, she could still feel when the pulse left his fingers and dug into her neck, it surged into her spine, scattering her nerves so close to the brain that she simply gasped quietly as her eyes fluttered, her legs giving out limply underneath her.

Sasuke caught her, careful that she didn't hit her head on the stone street, and with as much discretion as he could muster in such an open view, he moved Sakura to the side where a stone bench sat unoccupied. He laid her on the seat, wiping some locks of hair from her face as she settled to breathe evenly on the bench. It would have been so much easier if she hadn't seen him, now he only had until she awoke to make his headway, and he felt the urgent need from the mark on his shoulder. It seemed to buzz, almost like it could move at times, or like something under it was moving…

Sasuke was about to turn, about to walk away, when the soft clinking of metal on stone caught her attention. He looked down, to where Sakura's pastel locks had laid over something that shone in the soft moonlight. He couldn't help the curiosity that came over him, it looked like a chain but that couldn't be, Sakura never wore necklaces. He picked up the thin chain, the polished links sparkling in the dim light. Pulling it from her shirt, the chain revealed the pendant kept at its end, the small glass sphere with the tiny cork holding a sprinkling of sand within it.

His brow pinched together…how odd.

It only took a moment's pondering to feel as though it was well enough figured out. After all; he had a _very_ good memory.

The way that Sakura had appeared at the gates to Suna those few months ago wasn't something he'd soon forget; eyes bright, smile gleaming, a refreshed happiness washing out from her features as they'd first spied her. They'd also spied the sand, and its master, and the proximity of which she was so comfortably perched against him…a proximity the likes of which he had found disturbing. _"Gaara found me…Gaara killed him…I'd be dead if it weren't for him…"_ There were other things too, now that he thought about it, which stood out more in hindsight. The time absent from camp on their last joint mission, time unofficially accounted for as a " _walk_ ", she had been the only one to rebuke the idea to split up on that mission, the ANBU captain had called her the Basin girl, a brainwashed wanderer, and then…

" _Where's Gaara? Where is he!?"_ He'd barely caught the words before…but they had sounded so desperate, hadn't they? Her words to Naruto surely had been. _"Go! We've got this. You have to go!"_ The realization had slowly crept over his face as he stared into those still and lifeless grains of sand, suddenly comparing the sincerities and the urgencies from what she'd said about Gaara to…to what she had just said to himself.

" _I love you…do anything for you…"_

Sasuke dropped the pendant, the glass tinkling quietly on the stone bench, and a sort of uncomfortably tight smirk pulled at his lips. He let a deep breath out through his nose, suppressing a chuckle as he shook his head. He looked back to Sakura, finding something different about her now, about her face…or maybe her image in his mind's eye, and couldn't help but have the final word.

"Love me?" he whispered down to her, her ears were deaf to his words. " _Liar_."

He felt his brow pull together and his lips tilt into a frown. The cold and heavy thumping of his heart was back, the ache that it brought him radiating with each pump and pulse, and – with his thoughts fresh in mind – he couldn't bear to look at her face any longer. It was tempting to muse that, perhaps, the man responsible for Sakura's time in the desert had indeed succeeded in taking something away from him, something that – just maybe – might have tempted him to stay in this godforsaken place.

No matter, even more pointless now…

He had to get out of here, had to get distance before they went after him like he rightfully expected of Naruto once he found out. But more importantly, he had to learn how to control this power he'd been given, learn how to harness it for his own needs, he would face his brother then…and he would kill him cold blood just as he had done to their clan.

Sasuke turned his sights once more of the gates looming in the distance, a wicked little smirk pulling at his lips as he left his teammate and – she had thought – lifelong friend unconscious behind him.

 _Your days are numbered…Itachi._

…

"Sasuke!" Surging forward, Sakura reached out but as she opened her eyes to the light; blinding and harsh against her eyes, he was gone. Her hand reached for nothing but open air and lost potentials. She took a shaken breath, slowly looking around to take in her surroundings.

The street she was on wasn't very busy this time of the morning, only two young men carrying bundles of god only knew what stopped to eye her cautiously and curiously as she was suddenly awoken.

She paid them no mind, her thoughts already racing through her head. What time was it? How long had she been out? _"Sasuke, please! Don't go!"_ Her breath caught in her throat. How far did he get? Had anyone gone after him? Did…did anyone even know? _"I love you…"_

Her feet hit the pavement and she was off down the street, sprinting as fast as she could through the side roads to the main grid through town. She had to find Naruto, or Kakashi, or Tsunade, or _someone_. She rushed passed the early morning citizens out and about, her long shadow moving swiftly down the streets, cutting corners and jumping fences were she could to make up for lost time. So much lost time.

"Hey watch it!" someone called out. He was yards away in moments, completely out of sight soon after. She wasn't stopping for an accidental bump of the shoulder, she had no time for the 'I'm sorry' and the 'excuse me', she needed to be faster.

She rounded a corner, turning into a side street that led straight to the main drag through the city. If she could navigate it, it would save precious minutes, but one look down the wide street and she found it packed with people. She cursed under her breath for forgetting about the market held today and, with quick improvising to her plan, Sakura found the nearest vendor with the easiest access to the building's rooftops. With the buildings so tightly packed the roofs acted like a second highway in the sky and though often times used by the military and city guard, it was technically frowned upon. Business and homeowners alike didn't take kindly to the hard sounds of footsteps running across their rooves.

Nevertheless, she planned to be quick, and indeed she was.

Within minutes she found herself at Naruto's apartment building, her eyes finding his unit's window and, as she paused, she thought she could hear his alarm going off from where she stood. A moment to catch a breath, and she continued forward, forgoing the doors and stairs and, instead, helping herself to the balconies and overhangs of Naruto's downstairs neighbors. In this, she was well versed; up the sides and over railings with the agility and effortless ease of a cat finding the perfect perch. With a final pull over the railing of his balcony, Sakura finally planted her feet in the apartment.

Her footsteps were padded against the carpet as she stepped in through the cracked open sliding door. She had been right, his alarm was going off and as usual, he was sleeping straight through it. She smacked the snooze button shortly after throwing open his bedroom door and was upon him straight after.

"Naruto!" she exclaimed, grabbing the collar of his nightshirt and hoisting him up. "Wake up!" She shook him slightly, or maybe she was just trembling that badly…

"Huh!" he gasped, eyes shooting open and hands coming to the defense of his shirt. "Sakura!" She released him and he scampered back a moment, his hands clutching his wrinkled collar as well as his racing heart. "Oh god," Naruto sighed, a pained sort of relief washing over his face. "You scared the shit out of me," he breathed.

"Get up!" she urged, twisting on her feet and nearly attacking his dresser. She threw open the top drawer, paying no heed to his mutters of bewildered protest. She yanked out a clean pair of boxers and – much to his embarrassed shock – turned to throw them at him. Another drawer was almost pulled from the rails, a fresh white shirt and pair of pants being whipped at him in a blur. "We have to get to Kakashi," she said, stalking over to the armchair in the corner where his jacket lay thrown across the back. She snatched it up and tossed it back at him.

"Hold on," he said as he caught the jacket, adding it to the mounting pile in his hands. "Just take a breath. What's go-"

"Sasuke's gone." Her words silenced him effectively, the clothes in his arms were quickly relieved to the bed, and for once it seemed he had no words as he stared her down. She nodded sharply, that knot working its way back up her throat again. Her head hurt too…had she always had this headache? "He left."

Naruto paused, his eyes suddenly peeling from her face and looking absently around the room in thought. Then all at once, they snapped back to her, no less confused than before. "I…I don't, what? Gone?" His face twisted strangely at the word as if it were sour on the tongue.

Sakura shook her head, feeling compelled to clarify. " _Left_."

Something hardened to Naruto's eyes then, the resiliency he always wore so well. "When?" he demanded, the buttons of his nightshirt straining as he yanking it over his head. His hands went for his sweatpants after that and Sakura did him – as well as herself – the courtesy of turning around.

"Last night," she answered, her eyes finding a spot high on the wall to focus on as Naruto changed. "Late last night, can't be exact though."

"How do you know, Sakura?" he asked. "And why say something only now?" She heard a buckle jingle from behind her and gave herself the liberty to return to face-to-face conversation. He had just yanked the new shirt over his head, moving quickly to his jacket and his field belt.

"I saw him," she said, following him closely as he gathered his things. "I was just walking home from the tower, I did some reading for my lessons, and he was heading toward the gates with a bag packed and everything."

Naruto sank quickly to the floor, pulling on his shoes as quickly as he could. "But why?"

Sakura let out a frustrated groan. "Why do you _think_?" she snapped. "To kill his brother!"

"And you did _nothing_?"

" _What_?" she gaped, half tempted to smack that look of shock off of his face. "I tried to _stop_ _him_! Tried to talk him out of it! He wouldn't listen. He knocked me out, Naruto! I –" she paused, a sudden need to steady her breath throwing her words. She swallowed the dryness in her mouth in hopes to quell the tightness of her voice. She refused to break again, she refused to shed those tears in front of him now. "I begged him, told him I loved him, he knocked me out cold and left me on the street." She chewed her lip to cease its trembling as she stepped toward him. "He's not right, Naruto, he's not himself. He needs to be _here_."

He studied her face as she spoke, only now noting the true frantic haste to her eyes, the puffiness to them, they were nearly bloodshot. "Shit," Naruto hissed. He stood abruptly, seeming confident he had all he needed. "Well, what do we do?"

"Go after him," she urged. "I'll get Kakashi, tell Tsunade, do _something_ to get you back up. You just worry about intercepting him."

Naruto hesitated to reply as they made for the patio door. "Back up?" he repeated, the words sounding strange when spoken about Sasuke…about his teammate.

Sakura nodded. "He wants to kill Itachi," she said, a steadfast certainty to her voice Naruto simply couldn't deny. "He thinks he needs the power of that mark to get strong enough to do it…there's only one person who can help with that."

"Orochimaru…"

Sakura nodded, swallowing the hard lump in her throat before speaking, keeping her voice low in hopes to keep it better in check. "I don't think he left on a whim…I think they're out there somewhere waiting for him, and I think he knows it."

Naruto took a second to digest the idea, but only a second, and just like that his eyes were hard and determined. "Understood," he said, nodding to her as he did. "I'll be careful." He threw open the patio door, stepping out into the early morning air and setting sites on the distant gate that separated himself from his renegade friend.

Sakura grabbed hold of his arm, holding him back a moment as he began to climb over the railing. "Naruto, wait," she said, looking squarely into those striking blue depths. "Bring him back…please."

Naruto met her gaze with tenacity and what seemed a fortified sense of valor. "I promise."

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Dammit, all…he _really_ needed to stop coming here.

In the desert things were so simple; nothing crossed his path that he couldn't overcome, no life to challenge his own…but _here_? Things were different here. The sweat on his brow and the exhausting weight to his limbs were testaments to that. It seemed this forest was insistent on seeing him tried and challenged every time, and though the taste of his victory had been sweet indeed, he didn't at all favor the work it took to get to this point.

Gaara looked out to the battlefield before him, to all the acres of forest drowning in the tidal wave of earth and the invasive pillars of bone. They impregnated the landscape, now only a mere shadow of the peaceful forest that had existed not an hour ago. He grimaced, his heart still racing quite noticeably in his chest, and observed the way the distant tall treetops poked out like bushes in the landslide of sand. Though necessary, the destruction of the land had been extensive and he was sure Tsunade would expect an apology. No matter, it did him no good to think of that unpleasantness now. He was exhausted, nearly spent, and it was difficult to wrap his mind around the fact that even some of his strongest attacks and some of his best defenses hadn't been good enough. After all, it hadn't been himself that killed Kimimaru, in the end, he'd simply been sick…

It took a moment for him to collect himself after the life finally left those shallow and tired eyes of his opponent, it had taken too much out of him…he'd almost lost. Almost died. He was positive that his attacks would have killed anyone else, but that damn technique of his, the bone was not unlike his own sand defense; unimaginably dense and ever obedient to the whim of its master. It was too close a call, it made him uneasy, the sheer luck of it all proving his mortality with a hard smack to the face. He swore he could still feel his hands tremble.

Lee sat at his side, seemingly better than when Gaara had first found him. His face had been flushed and his words slurred whenever he spoke them. Honestly, what was wrong with the man? And to try and fight in his condition? Gaara had nearly scoffed at his attempt to rush Kimimaro, but he figured the face plant into a cushion of sand would be telling enough. Even in the midst of battle, he had needed to take effort to keep attention off of Lee and on himself. He had been right in his first assumption; he was different, sloppy, slower…and once he got a good look at what Lee had mistaken for his medicine, Gaara knew why. The man had gotten himself drunk, and perhaps the laxness to his muscles had been the only reason he'd lasted until Gaara had arrived on the scene.

It had been an urgent road up to this point and if he had been given more time he was sure this battle wouldn't have strained him so much. But no, once word arrived, once they knew their allies were in need of help, there hadn't been a moment to spare.

He'd been on patrol with Temari and her squad, deciding on a whim to accompany them. Ever since her promotion to an official title of patrol captain, she and her squad had been journeying further from the city, taking days at a time to travel the country and check in on the rural communities, and while the concept of long-distance travel was still fresh in some minds he thought it best to keep an eye on things. He had his downtime from missions, nothing better to do as it was…until word came on the radio in the earlier hours of the afternoon. It had stopped the whole patrol unit dead in their tracks. Their channel for open contact with allied troops in the area crackled to life with a call to all units and the urgency of the voice caused a hush to fall over the traveling troop. Gaara could feel his brother and sister glance his way as the clear order was given.

Sasuke Uchiha has gone rogue, all available units respond.

Temari had snatched her personal radio and dialed the frequency for the nearby outpost. _"This is Captain Temari with the Suna east patrol, we are available."_ Sasuke's last known location and names of dispatched soldiers came through the line shortly after…Naruto, Lee, Shikamaru and Kiba…all friends of that traitor. Temari's lips had gone into a hard grimace as she heard the names, a sudden heaviness to her energy and a clear worry to her shoulders. _"We're on it, consider us inbound."_ Her eyes had gone hard, the gleam she normally held was gone, and with a stern voice that argued no room for rebuttal, she gave her orders. _"Everyone stay on route to the next outpost and stay there. No one separates from the group. Kankuro and Gaara will come with me, and the rest of you will await our return. I'll be in touch."_

Gaara had reacted within an instant, after all, his siblings were well versed in his peculiar methods of travel. They had vanished within his whirlwind alongside him, leaving the remaining squad altogether baffled and confused. It didn't take long for them to guess that the possibilities of hostiles in the area were going to be high and that the subordinates of the group were unequipped to handle such a task. With no other option, they continued on toward the outpost to await the return of their captain.

While in route, Gaara had expended a considerable amount of energy to carry both his siblings across the remaining desert that separated them from the forest, and once he crossed that threshold it only took more out of him to continue at the same pace. But he could feel the urgency of his sister as if her willpower alone could make him faster, and he did his best to locate what he believed to be the energy source she was looking for. He stopped abruptly, the three of them stumbling forth from the flurry of sand and gaining their bearings after miles and miles of senseless and timeless travel. He'd given her a crude direction, knowing that if given proper course she'd find Shikamaru eventually, and with little more than a shallow and sincere smile, Temari turned for the trees. It was Kankuro that called out to her, insisting she be careful and be safe, and she had only nodded over her shoulder as she disappeared.

Then they were off again, more signatures popping up in the hazy reading of the world. There was one in the distance, one that was quiet and calm, but it seemed to breathe power and precision to the land. Another was a little closer, less foreboding, and Gaara chose the lesser of these potential threats to leave to his brother. Once Kankuro was on his own, and entirely confident about it, Gaara made quick course to his chosen enemy. It was only as he got closer that he realized this foe was not alone, that Lee had already engaged with him and was nearing the end of his ability to fight back. He'd cursed himself…he should have been faster, should have made more time somehow…

"These abilities of yours," Lee started, drawing Gaara's attention from his thoughts. "They are truly amazing."

Gaara felt his brow pinch in response. It was rather…unusual to hear such remarks about his abilities, especially from those they had been used against. For years they had been the subject of debate and controversy, the center of people's fear and scorn. To Lee, he merely shrugged. "It's nothing, I just tell the sand what to do. It's second nature to me now."

"Still," Lee countered, some sense of tenacity to his voice. "That doesn't make them any less impressive. You've gotten even stronger than you were before…I hadn't thought it possible."

Gaara refused to take the compliment…stronger or not, it hadn't been enough this day. He said nothing to this and stood from his seat against a tree. His muscles were sore, his energy depleted, and there would be no attacks coming from him any time soon, but even in his moments of exhaustion, he could still manage influence over his own personal grains, the ones that never left and never failed him. His knees felt as though they might give out, but he had confidence they wouldn't drop him.

Besides, he had worries eating away at him. If these foes he'd left for his siblings had anywhere near the power level of his own opponent, he needed to get into contact with them soon and ensure their safety. He thought of his sister as he'd sent her off into the trees alone and without proper knowledge of the situation, his brother whose confidence now seemed a little cocksure to say the least, he needed to find them. "Come on," he said, rolling a sharp pain from his shoulder. "I should get you back."

"No," Lee insisted, standing to confront him. "I have to help Naruto with Sasuke, I've got to keep going."

"There's nothing you can do for him, he's made up his mind."

Lee shook his head. "No I…I just want to get my hands on him," he said, his voice quieting and his words seeping past tight lips. Gaara paused, this sudden sourness to his resolve was unlike the overall positive nature of the man. "After what he did…Naruto did everything he could for him, they all did, and to just turn his back on them like that? I can't understand it. I just can't." He shook his head as if trying to banish the thoughts. "And to think he walked away from what she'd said, and to leave her like that, why it's so cruel, I-"

"Wait," Gaara interjected. "What happened? Who?"

"Well," Lee started, his look was confused as if he expected Gaara to know this. "Sakura. She saw Sasuke leaving the city last night and went after him." He resolved not to let it show, but Gaara was sure his blood just ran cold. "Tried to stop him too, but even after everything she said, what she had promised…he just knocked her out and left." Lee scoffed, his face turning twisting in upset and his arms crossing stubbornly over his chest. "He must be a fool, I can't see any way around it."

Gaara pondered this, a sudden gut feeling urging him to pry the man so eager to talk. "What did she say?" he dared to ask.

He was met by a fire in the man's eyes that was at once enraged and altogether torn. "Told him she loved him, lucky bastard! Said she was in love with him and she'd do anything he asked of her. Then he just left her there, knocked out cold on a bench in the middle of the city, all night!" Gaara swallowed, a strange mixture of that hurt he despised so much and an anger he wasn't entirely familiar with bubbling to life within his gut. Lee sighed, the anger subsiding to something the likes of dejected. "She's just so wonderful and I…" There was a silence that fell between them, it felt thick with a complexity that Gaara was sure he simply wouldn't understand. "Well," Lee spoke after a moment. "She knows how I feel." It wasn't hard to believe that…everyone knew how Lee felt.

Something laughed at him from the tired reaches of Gaara's mind, something that he was glad to say had been keeping quiet these past few weeks. The poor man's obvious heartbreak and upset were nothing but pitiful entertainment to the beast watching Gaara's life go by. He'd been burdened by the nagging and the temptation less and less as he learned to control the further reaches of the demon's influence…but still, that didn't mean it wasn't ever present, feeding him feelings of doubt and uncertainty. He did his best to shake it off, to ignore it like he'd been trying to, and pushed it to the back of his mind.

"Let's go, you need to be looked at."

As stubborn as ever it seemed, Lee took a step back and shook his head. "If I do, then so do you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Gaara sighed in response, the first hints of agitation showing through on his voice. "I'm fine, I have to get to my brother and sister."

This seemed to fall on Lee's ears a little differently. "Temari and Kankuro? You came with them?"

Gaara nodded. "They are out with the others that followed after Sasuke. If their opponents are anything like _him_ ," Gaara said whilst making a slight gesture to the dead man half hanging from a spire of bone. "Then they need me."

"But, in your current state-"

"Even in my current state, I can do more than sit by and do nothing. Naruto can take care of himself," he insisted, rightfully knowing that his words held more truth than even Gaara cared to admit. It meant reminding himself that he'd had his ass thoroughly handed to him by the young blond, just another trial this damn forest had put him through. "My brother and sister are a different story. We're going back so I can make sure they're safe." Lee thought for a moment before nodding, knowing he couldn't ask to get in between a family unit he could only just begin to understand. He relented.

There was, of course, a moment of sheer panic that overwhelmed the young man before Gaara's sand could. Lee hadn't expected such explosive speed from it given its master's state of fatigue, but it swirled about the air in a dusty cloud before dispersing to the sandy landscape Gaara had left in the wake of his battle. He slithered them through the towering columns of bone that stifled the land, the last remains and somehow poetic resting place of a man both brainwashed and vindictive till the end; forever trapped in the ability that had him shunned, a prison of his own self.

Gaara would let the city decide what to do about all this…though he was sure they'd make him get rid of all the sand he'd created…he doubted it would be good for the local ecosystem.

It hadn't been long until they arrived at the city and, with a decent amount of honest surprise, Gaara was impressed with how well Lee handled himself in the midst of such foreign travel. It shouldn't have been such a shock, once he took a moment to think about it, he had known of Lee's superb control of his energies and his base chakras went well beyond that of his peers, and perhaps this sense of unity within himself helped stave off the evils that lurked in the far reaches of that darkness.

He had been a little different upon arriving at the hospital, most everyone was after their first time, but he seemed better off than most. There was a nurse that rushed him within an instant, a rampant stream of words bursting from her lips as she scolded him. Apparently, he was supposed to be on strict bed rest and had simply fled the coop. He apologized profusely as the woman groaned in response to his worsened condition, more work for the doctors it seemed.

Gaara didn't linger long, however, and after just a moment he was off again, racing down the road to where he was sure he had felt something familiar. He stopped, though he didn't release himself from the churning river of sand along the ground. No one seemed to notice him anyway. The energy he'd sensed had indeed been his sister's and it didn't take long to sniff out the building she'd gone back to. She was as calm as could be expected and, from what he could tell at least, she was well, she had held her own in battle and returned the victor. But she wasn't alone here, and amongst the background of underwhelming energies of the citizens, he felt something familiar alongside his sister. Shikamaru…it had to be, and almost more noticeable than the blatant familiarity of Temari's signature, there was a pain and sorrow that rippled out from those misleading walls. There was grief that he could feel, a deeply seeded pain that he himself had been the cause of countless times before. Now that he noticed, the air was practically saturated with it, a sense of loss on so many levels. Family, friends, all for the sake of some selfish and shortsighted whim of a confused and angry man.

His brother had returned victorious as well, he would soon find out, and after his worries had been quelled, Gaara found himself in a secluded and deserted training ground within the city. He stopped there, giving himself a moment to rest and regain some of his strength. His gourd fell from his back and he grimaced as he rolled the stress and strain from his shoulders. With a sigh, Gaara popped his knuckles and cracked his neck before sinking to the ground against a shaded tree. He would have some silence from the voice in his head for a while, he was sure, and he intended to use that peace and quiet to get him back to his rightful self. He wasn't a fan of the weighted heaviness to his limbs, the soreness to his muscles…he'd intended to win without much effort like most every time before, not hurt when it was all said and done.

Gaara shifted, prying open a pocket on the strap to his gourd and fishing out some neatly folded papers. There were a few leaves of papers, the surfaces were worn and the creases were thinning the more he took them out. It was hard to help, they always seemed to help settle him.

She'd kept her promise, like she always seemed to, and not long after his return to the desert after their last mission he'd been surprised to see some mail addressed to his home. His sister had received a letter as well and given the way she stifled her smile it seemed that whatever Sakura had written to her was heartwarming indeed. Temari had written back straightaway while Gaara was a little stumped for what to say in return. He flipped to that first letter in his little stack, the one that he'd read so much that the words were fading by his handling and the harshness of sunlight, and most of them he knew simply from memory alone. _Naruto and I are glad to know you're back home safe, your teammates too. I was worried about everyone on my way home. I tried my best not to harbor any ill will against your council, but…well, I guess I didn't try hard enough._ Why did those first lines always temp him to smile? _I wish the mission had lasted longer, or the ANBU just hadn't been there, I wanted to catch up more. I feel our time got cut rather short compared to before._ He had to agree, the few hours he'd had her for wasn't even close to the days she'd spent in his desert…the days he'd found himself melancholy for. _Oh well, maybe next time? I know that Naruto wants to see you when you're next in town…I heard him mention it at least. I know I do for sure, you've still got to let me know when I can come visit you and the guys. Anyway, be sure to write me back, okay Gaara?_

 _I'll be waiting._

 _Sakura_

He couldn't even remember what he'd managed to put together to write her back. He had to manage something, after all, if he didn't she might not write him again and he just couldn't risk that. It was a strange and intoxicating sensation to know that she'd taken a moment from her own life happening hundreds of miles away to do something that focused solely on him. He had pictured her hunched over a desk with her fingers scribbling that graceful script over the letters to his sister and himself, imagined how she might have checked her mail and the offices at the tower in hopes of a reply. He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't been anticipating it himself, waiting rather impatiently for whatever she chose to share with him next.

It had been her training…and it hadn't been good.

 _Tsunade is going to kill me._ It was a blunt start, the strokes in her writing where jagged and deeply pressed into the paper. She must have been stressed. _Everything is just so hard and I can't seem to keep up with how far she pushes me and_ _I swear I'm not going to last in this training. Just when things start to click into place something goes wrong or I screw something up and I feel like I'm back at square one_. He could tell these were fresh thoughts, the rambles of a frantic and doubtful mind not yet clear enough to think them through. He'd seen dejection in her before, he could picture the self-criticism and disappointment pulling at her shoulders and tilting down the corners of her lips. _I'm not progressing like I should, I'm not going anywhere. I'm sorry for laying all this out but I just_ – the next words were written differently as if she had taken a moment from her thoughts to collect herself before continuing – _don't know if I can do this._ Gaara remembered clearly how he'd felt his jaw tighten at those words, even now it made something coil unpleasantly within his gut. _Tsunade's put so much time into this, I don't know what to tell her, or anyone. What if I'm just wasting her time?_

She was in a bad place, Gaara could practically feel it through the paper…she hadn't even signed it. Perhaps it was the sheer audacity of the words, the brazen offense it posed to her nature…it didn't matter what, he'd written back straight away, even showing his sister the letter so she could find some way to talk sense into Sakura.

Give up? He couldn't imagine it, the idea of healing and correcting the violent wrongs of the world just seemed so naturally becoming of her, this momentary lapse into self-loathing and self-doubt was something he was personally familiar with and he refused to allow her to wallow in it. He did remember what he wrote back that time, and of all the things he could have said, none seemed more important than what he'd needed her to hear. _She pushes you because she believes in you even when you don't. You can't give up, people need you._

Her response had come a little over a week later, too long to wait in his opinion. Those long days had been plagued with quiet question. Had she revoked her apprenticeship with the Hokage? Had she felt such failure within herself that she could no longer persevere to her proper calling? It had been a great relief when the letter came, stating that, no, she hadn't given up. She'd felt foolish as it were, embarrassed for confiding such doubts in him. He hadn't cared in the slightest, she had felt trapped, in need of some release, and when she felt she could turn to no one else, she turned to him. He doubted she'd ever know how much that had meant to him, how much he'd been stupefied and enthralled all at once. In her hours of discontent she had sought his confidence, a testament to the friendship she claimed to share with him.

He had his favorites, of course, little things that were more so just thoughts that she cast to the wind rather than letters meant to keep him informed. She'd sent his sister letters of dreams she'd had; ones that brought her back to the desert, and she tried her best to make plans to truly come back but…so far they'd all fallen through. Gaara had been getting impatient with the whole thing, but then Temari had left a small note for him in his room one day, a little scrap of paper sent along with her own letter about canceling plans _. I'm sorry_ , it had said. _I miss you guys. I want to come back_.

Ever since getting them, they'd made a permanent home in that pocket on his gourd's strap. These letters would be safest there, most private there; no one would dare touch them. He didn't want to risk it. There were too many times when just the simple sight of her script had breathed calm and control back into him, to know he could trust someone and to know they trusted him…it got him through many hard times.

But now, as he sat alone with all the letters she'd sent him, reading over the words yet again after countless times before, Gaara found himself fixating on how many times the Uchiha had been mentioned. He saw these words in a different light, the hints to his plan were so obvious now, the warning signs much more clear…the extent of Sakura's concern for her teammate was clear to him as well.

 _He's not like himself lately, he's closed off, distant_ – he couldn't help but wonder how close that meant they normally were – _I'm worried about him. It's that mark,_ she had said in a separate letter _, I'm sure of it. It's changing him and I don't think he realizes it, or maybe he's not trying to stop it. I wish I could help him._

Gaara looked over the letters, wondering just how long this desertion of Sasuke's had been in the works. Sakura had noticed something, she'd seen the change that lead to this whole mess, but perhaps no one had listened, or maybe she had hoped she was wrong and never told anyone other than himself. If that were the case then _he_ should have listened better, seen something that she couldn't…he might have been able to do something to prevent this…

" _Said she loved him, lucky bastard!"_

…to prevent _that_. He felt it almost unjustified, but it made him angry. Lee was right, she was so wonderful, and to hurt her the way he had…well, he simply couldn't wrap his head around it. Perhaps this is what tempted him to search out into the city, to see if she was close enough to seek out. It hadn't taken long, she wasn't too far, just over a mile away by the front gates to the city and, beyond that, Gaara felt who she was waiting for.

Naruto was coming back.

He'd gone quickly to investigate, to see what would happen when he returned to the city, and placed himself a good distance away down the street. He was weak, fatigued, hopefully she wouldn't notice him so close, she wouldn't bother looking whilst so preoccupied, and he watched as Naruto approached her at the gates. Before he even appeared beyond the walls, Gaara could see her shoulders slump as her hands held a gasp to her lips. He was alone, no one followed him; Sasuke was gone.

… _loved him_ …

"Naruto," she said without thinking, Gaara could just barely hear them over the voices of the few people scattering the road.

Naruto approached, desperate apology clear in his movements. "Sakura…" he started, his steps slowing from his sprint back home. He began to hold up his hands, as if in way of spoken apology. "I couldn't…he…" He huffed, the both of them clearly frantic and scattered, so much chaotic energy pulsing between the two. "I'm sorry, Sakura," he finally said, his shoulders falling and his voice becoming hollow. "Sasuke said he isn't coming back."

"No," Sakura breathed as she stepped back, he could only see the way her lips moved around the word. " _No_!" A few people had stopped and turned at the sudden sound of her voice, their eyes falling on her and all her disarray. "You…you _promised_!"

"I know," Naruto muttered in return, following after her staggered steps back. "I _know_ , I'm sorry." He reached out to her, snagged her wrist and attempting to pull her close. Then, with a choking sob that Gaara heard all too well, Sakura collapsed into the arms of her friend. The energy she emitted, swamped with pain and devastation and heartbreak, flooded out to the streets around her. Gaara stepped back, focusing on that whirlwind of hurt and – now that he saw her pain true in her eyes and the heartbreak in her voice – he thought himself a fool.

Who was he to think he could help her? What right did he have to assume he could mend the hurt of another? He'd done nothing but cause this sort of pain his whole life, first his mother, then all the countless, nameless, faceless others that littered his path after. No…he'd only make things worse, it's all he ever did.

"Come on, Sakura," he heard Naruto urge her. Through the people walking quietly on the street, Gaara saw Naruto turn Sakura, trying to get her out of the public area. "Let me take you home." She couldn't respond, the breaking of her voice and the sobs ripping from her throat wouldn't allow it, she only leaned on him for support, turning her face into his shoulder as she tried to hide her sorrows from prying and curious eyes.

He had to get out of here.

His heart thumped painfully in his chest, his limbs felt both heavy and weightless and not at all well, he felt compelled, desperate to do something, but there was nothing he could do. Sasuke was gone, but to where? Gaara didn't know. It would be pointless to go in search of him to drag back for her sake, it would only cause more problems if he even tried. With no other feasible option, he disintegrated into a flurry of sand along the ground, sifting to the wall and slipping over the barrier unnoticed. He simply couldn't sit in the presence of that hurt any longer, it stirred his beast and it suffocated him.

Not that it mattered, at least she was safe in the city, with Naruto as well, someone trusted and beloved, he could comfort her better than Gaara could…he was sure of it.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

"Are you sure, dear?"

"Yes," Sakura spoke back, her voice a little ragged yet.

Her mother paused, not really believing her daughter's words, but what more could she do? This was all young love and heartbreak, nothing she herself hadn't lived through before…though desertion had never been a factor in her own teenage dalliances. Either way, she knew Sakura was stronger of heart and spirit than she gave herself credit for; she would be fine.

Just needed to sort herself out.

"All right," she complied, her voice softening as she moved to stand in the doorway of Sakura's room. Sakura was sitting on her bed, hands clasped limply over her lap while she stared blankly in front of her. Her lips were tilted and her brow was furrowed in a perpetual expression of dismay, her eyes were puffy and red – oh, how she hated to see her daughter this way. "If you're going to be okay, your father and I have to get going."

Sakura nodded. "Don't miss your reservation, Mom," she muttered, turning to her mother for a moment. "I'll be fine."

"All right," she said again, grabbing the door handle to shut the door behind her. "We'll be back later. I love you, dear." Sakura nodded, her lip suddenly pulled between her teeth to suppress another quake threatening her voice.

Her mom shut the door, the sounds of her footsteps echoed down the stairs and she heard muffled voices below as her mother spoke quietly with her father. They hadn't wanted to leave her be, they wanted to cancel their reservations and stay with her, but – as much as she loved them for caring – she didn't want them hovering. It wasn't long before she heard the front door open and shut as her parents left the house.

She shifted on her bed, leaning over so she could snatch the picture frame from her bedside table. In the soft glow of the lamplight, she studied the faces in the picture. Her hair was longer back then, and she noticed that she no longer recognized that face of hers as the one she now saw in the mirror. Naruto had gotten taller and, to her surprise, some of that dorkiness actually made way for some potentially handsome features. He looked so young in the picture…so much could happen in just a few years. So much could change.

Then her eyes drifted to Sasuke, that brooding and underwhelmed expression of his, forever frozen in this physical memory, suddenly caused her heart to clench. She cursed herself, her fingers gripping the wooden frame tightly, and wished she could be rid of the torment that seemed to come to her in waves, always coming back for her right after she found some sense of center again. She pressed her lips together tightly, trying to hold back the shaking of her throat, and used an already damp sleeve to dry her eyes.

Her eyes fixed on his in the photo. "You idiot," she muttered. "So stupid."

It was too much, she couldn't look at it anymore, not yet at least, and she tossed the picture back to her nightstand in a sudden fit. It knocked her alarm clock to the floor and she sighed, bending down to pick it up. She leaned over, the chain of her necklace slipping around her neck and the pendant swinging out from under her shirt.

She picked up the alarm clock, taking more interest in her pendant as she set it back on the stand. Sakura peered into the glass sphere, the sand was so still and unassuming, and it struck her as odd. Hadn't she felt him in the city? She'd been surprised to say the least, but upon hearing that Temari and Kankuro had come with him it made more sense. But even so, she could have sworn she'd felt him within the city limits, it had to have been, though the energy had seemed quieter, perhaps less abundant than before. But now – now that she thought of it and focused – he was much further away.

Her heart sunk into her chest, something all-together different than the waves of chilled pain that had wracked her heart at Sasuke's expense. He _had_ been in town earlier, he'd been so close and she was right to think that she'd felt him. Hadn't that brought her some sense of peace? She'd been relieved at least. It wasn't long after Lee ditched the hospital that she had heard of it, and she'd also heard how Gaara had saved his ass on the battlefield and brought him back to the safety of his doctors. But now he was…leaving?

Yes…he was.

She could feel it as he gained distance, the pulsing of the sand inside the glass sphere growing weak and slow. The necklace always seemed to pulse to life when he came by, the sand reacting to the tidal flow of the energy that followed its master. And as he retreated farther from the necklace, farther from her, the vibrating tumble of sand grew gentle and dormant.

She heard herself whimper, her hands shaking as she moved with sudden and frantic force. Snatching up the necklace, tearing it from around her neck and almost breaking the chain over her head, Sakura squeezed the glass in her palm. If only she could talk back to him through the sand, if only she could tell him to come back, that she wanted to see him, to thank him, to tell him she missed him and ask of what happened with his siblings. If they truly were okay. So many things she needed to ask of him, so many things weighing much too heavily on her shoulders, and in the midst of all of this he was just going to…what? Leave? She was only just able to feel the last flickers of the energy it held as she gripped it tightly in her hands as if the tighter she held it the more he might be able to feel her. Tears threatened to burst from her lashes and she pressed her eyes shut against them, her lips trembled in protest of the sob trying to rip from her throat, and in her moment of unrest; she felt the glass give way.

The sphere splintered in her palm, sharp edges piercing through her skin, and droplets of dark red blood seeped out around the glass.

"Ah!" She gasped, opening her fist and dropping the loose sand and broken glass to the ground. "Shit!" She hissed, her heart sinking suddenly as she bent down to the broken pendant. She touched the pile of soft sand, little bits of reflective glass poking out, and huffed out a disappointed sigh. She hadn't meant to break it. Sakura held up her hand, holding it with some care as some blood dripped down her palm and wrist, and tried to pluck out the tiny slivers of glass, tried to pick the little grains of sand from her cuts.

She wiped some tears from her eyes, sniffling a little as she did so. Her palm, stinging and silently leaking blood, began to itch. She peeled back the skin of a cut, inspecting the strange itching sensation, and saw a few grains of sand moving in her wound. They lifted from the cut, clumping together and falling to the floor. The itching had been the tiny tingles of vibrations and the sand of the broken pendant clumped together, sticky with blood, and slithered in its place.

She felt it then, the growing pressure on the horizon, and she stood from the floor, her eyes locked on the pale light coming in through her window. Her lips thinned, her brow drew together over her eyes as she scowled. So this is what it took?

Her abandonment and heartache weren't enough to warrant some comfort? She'd been thrown aside after everything she'd done, tried to do, and now _he_ was done with her too? So she herself wasn't enough but a simple little _cut_ was?

She sucked in a ragged breath through her teeth. "Fine," she hissed through tight lips. She snatched up a sliver of glass, her heart feeling as though it would simply burst from her chest, some tight ball of anxiety that needed a release, and she dug the glass into her palm.

She winced against the pain, ignoring the throbbing of the cut, the pressure getting heavier all around her. She pulled the end of the shard, the fractured edge tearing more into her skin. But she pushed through it, if this was what he wanted, if this was how she was going to be noticed, then so be it. Squeezing her hand shut, she pressed the glass further into her skin, tears leaking from her eyes as she did so.

She felt the blood seep from the small wounds, dripping down her wrist and down her forearm in thin little trails, and suddenly she felt that pressure give way.

Wind blew harshly at her window, the trees of her yard whipping in the gusts, and with the wind came a barrage of sand. It slammed against her widow, tearing the pane open and flooding into her room. She stood there, her eyes squinted against the sand in the air, and waited for Gaara to show.

When he materialized, his hand came first, reaching out from the swirling wind and snatching her wrist. The rest of him followed after, all tense and...and angry.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" He hissed, pulling her hand closer, the remaining sand in the cuts moving around again, causing her palm to itch.

She resisted, trying to pull her hand back, and glared at him. "What do you care?" She spat, her voice threatening to break. "Give me the picture!"

He didn't let go of her hand, the sand in her cuts working to pull out the tiny slivers of glass still stuck in her skin. "What are you talking about?"

"The _picture_! Asshole!" He did hesitate at this, looking up to meet her eyes and seeming to first notice the tears. "You obviously don't want it, give me my damn address back!"

His brow pulled together as he realized what she spoke of, his fingers tightening their grip on her wrist. "No," he responded, his voice flat and non-negotiable.

"Yes!" She cried out, her voice breaking, tears spilling over her cheeks. "Give it back! Just-" She sucked in a breath. "Just give it back."

"Sakura," he started, loosening his grip on her wrist, but refusing to let go.

"Sasuke didn't care, not about me, not about Naruto, so why should you? Just... just give me the picture and go. You were already going anyway."

Her voice had become defeated, her hand now limp in his, and her shoulders shook and quaked as she tried to contain her sorrows.

He paused, his mind void of thought or ideas, unable to comfort her. This is why he had left, why he had put distance between them, knowing he would only fall short of what she needed. Who was he to know how to cope with loss? Who was he to know how to fix a terrible heartache? He'd lived a life filled with rejection and scorn, but he'd never thought to ease the hurt it brought. How could he help her when he hadn't been able to help even himself?

But here she was, standing there in the flesh with her blood on his hands and her tears staining her cheeks. Telling him to leave? How could he? He couldn't possibly do that now.

"No, Sakura. I'm not leaving."

She looked up to him, a hopeless pain in her eyes he couldn't sooth. It nearly broke him. "Then..." she mumbled, her lips trembling. "Then why did he leave?"

Selfishness. Revenge. A pointless path to a disappointing end. None of these answers would help her, he knew, they couldn't take away the ache swallowing her up. "I don't know," he said, lying as he did so. "I don't know."

She choked on a sob, ripping her hand from him in an attempt to stifle herself. She turned, her shoulders shaking, her breath ragged and erratic, and she stepped away from him. Grabbing a hand towel she pressed the cotton to her palm, soaking up the blood, and placed her good hand over her lips. Gaara quickly followed after her, cracking his knuckles and taking a few calming breaths before reaching out for her hand again. She let him have it, not bothering to fight him now, and allowed him to do his best at wiping the blood from her hand and wrist.

"I should have gone after him," she whispered, her throat too strained to handle her voice. Gaara did his best not to show it, the way her words cut him into an angry edge, but he could feel his lips tilt into a scowl. "I could have helped Naru-"

"No," he stated, cutting her off and silencing her. "He only would have attacked you as he did Naruto. He wasn't going to let either of you stop him, you know that."

She stared at him, trying her best to read his face through her misty eyes. "Nothing?" She asked. "I could do nothing?" Her tears were coming back, brimming against her lashes, threatening to drop. He shook his head, knowing that above all she would appreciate truth in this. Her face fell, dejected and altogether broken, and not for the first time this day either. Her shoulders slumped and it seemed like she would simply give out. "But...but I told him I loved him."

Gaara could only nod, refusing to let that punch to the gut show in front of her. It wasn't what she needed now. "I know."

She sucked in a short breath. "I told him I'd do anything for him," she said, quiet and shaken. Gaara only nodded again, remembering well how he'd envied the boy for just that; companionship and blind devotion, things he'd always been denied...things Sasuke had only thrown away. She took a step toward him, perhaps worried her legs would give without support, perhaps seeking a physical comfort he surely couldn't manage, he wasn't certain. "Doesn't that -" she started, choking on a lump in her throat. "Didn't that count for something?"

He didn't know what to say, it was a question he'd always pondered and never solved. What could he tell her?

"Isn't that supposed to be enough?" When he didn't respond she squeezed her eyes closed, tears dripping down her cheeks, and she leaned into him.

He let her rest her head against his shoulder, her hands gripping his shoulders and pulling herself closer, trying to hide from the world within the fabric of his shirt. He put an arm around her waist, a firm grip to show she was welcome to seek whatever comfort he could offer and smoothed his other hand over her hair. It was softer than he'd thought it would be. She shook and quaked even more now, as if she found a means to release what she could no longer contain, and he stood with patience as she cried.

She sniffled, no doubt staining his clothes, and tried to steady her voice. "I thought it was going to be enough."

He nodded, holding her tighter as she drew her arms around his neck, pressing the hot skin of her face into his throat. He had to say something, anything to quell that pain, but what could he say? Who in their right mind would throw away what she had offered? It was something he'd have to fight for every day of his life and Sasuke had simply let her slip by. Gaara continued to hold her as she emptied herself of sorrows and tears, a quiet pillar of tenacity for her to cling to, and tried his best to sound sure and sincere in his words. "For the right person, Sakura," he said, hoping to whatever god was out there that he wasn't pulling complete bullshit out of his ass. "It should have been more than enough."

She nodded against his neck, satisfied with his answer it seemed, and he forced himself to pull her arms from around his neck. She pulled back, sniffling a little in embarrassment at the dark stain on his shoulder from her tears. He took hold of her hand, the bloody one still holding the wash towel, and peeled the wet fabric from her palm.

"Sakura," he said, his voice quiet and almost pleading with her. "Fix this." He'd gotten the sand from her cuts and taken the tiny splinters of glass along with them, but he could do nothing more. He couldn't mend and repair as she could, he couldn't heal like she could and it only angered him to know she'd done this to herself.

She scrunched her face together, glaring down at her stinging palm now that she felt spent and foolish for her actions, and scoffed. "I don't care," she muttered.

Gaara simply persisted through her shortness, doing his best with this whole patience business, and tried again. "I do."

She paused, her swollen lip pulled between her teeth as she thought, and it appeared she would give in to his request. She nodded, the veins under her pale skin already pulsing with the softest green glow, and the cuts on her palm shrunk and mended, her skin smoothing over with nothing to blemish it but a crimson stain. She flicked her wrist out of his hand, the glow dying as quickly as it had come, and sneered.

"Happy now?"

He knew better than to take her tone personally, he too had lashed out and provoked people in his moments of unrest, and he also knew better than to feed that attitude. He nodded, staying calm and even. "Yes. Don't do these things to yourself," he said, the tone of his voice causing her eyes to dip to the floor. He took her hand again, holding it so she could see her bloody palm as if for emphasis. "Not even a little."

She knew he was right, that she'd been caught up in her emotions and acted out in a less than desirable way. She nodded, foolishness washing away her temper, and spoke quietly. "I know, it's just that...you were here all day. I knew it, I _felt_ it..." She stood stiff and rigid a step away from him, probably the most awkwardly she'd held herself in his presence for a while. He felt his chest tighten, something winding with a violent tension, faced with the repercussions of his actions. "And then you were just...leaving. I never heard from you, never saw you, nothing. I just didn't want to feel like I was losing everything."

"No, Sakura," he said, closing the step she'd taken between them, taking a bold chance to touch her face and demand the attention of her eyes. She'd been dead wrong to think that and he wanted her to know it. "I thought I'd only make things worse for you. I didn't know what to say, what you would want me to do."

She shook her head, sniffling away some residual tears, and leaned into his touch as she did so. "Just be here."

He paused, nearly mesmerized at the way she leaned her cheek into his palm, turning into his touch and closed her eyes to the world. "Okay," he muttered, his other hand reaching out until his fingers just barely touched her hip. He drew his arm around her then, the embrace he was positive she was seeking, and drew her close. "I'm here."

She slumped against him as if there was no more strength in her body, the rigidity he'd felt was gone and the soft resistance of her body against his was much more pleasant. Her shoulders shook still, her breathing wasn't nearly calm or level yet, but with an arm secured fast around her waist and her arms held tight around his neck, she was free to as much time as she needed. He wouldn't complain, it didn't bother him and he found that – even in her sorrows – it was just as intoxicating as when he'd secure her to his side for travel.

And just like the times he traveled with her as one with the sand, it felt much too soon when she finally stepped out of his arms. She sniffled, doing her best to hide the puffiness of her eyes. "Sorry," she said, her voice quiet between them. "This must be so silly to you."

Gaara shook his head. "No," he said in return. "No, it's not."

Sakura wiped her eyes, trying to soothe the dry puffiness to them. "So," she began before clearing her throat. "Where's Temari?"

Gaara shrugged, looking to the side for a moment as she tried to collect herself. The aforementioned picture still kept company in his strap's pocket, this woman before him was a hollow reflection of that picture, lacking the confidence and happiness that made her eyes shine and her skin glow… "She was back in town last I gathered," he said. "Got Shikamaru back fine, Kankuro and Kiba are fine as well, no casualties between them at least."

Sakura nodded, a silence falling over them as they stood in the dim light of her bedroom. "Senseless," Sakura muttered, her arms coming up to hold herself. "Just senseless."

"It would seem so."

Sakura paused, looking up at him after a moment. "Gaara," she began, her throat feeling tight again as soon as his name left her tongue. "I…look, I can't thank you enough. All of you, for everything you did today."

"It's nothing," he insisted, wanting to rid her of that guilty expression.

Sakura didn't refuse this, but she did pause, her eyes seeming to clear from her pain for a moment and she started looking at him differently. He didn't like it. "And you're…sure you're fine?" she questioned after a moment. "You seem different."

Gaara thought about trying to bypass this subject but decided against it, her abilities of perception were at times beyond his understanding. Sure, he was similarly skilled, but he had a demon to explain things…she was just innately like this. "Yes, I'm fine," he said doing his best to sound sincere and promising. "Though I had a harder time than I'd rather admit." This small admission of vulnerability almost brought a smile to her face…and at that a bit of his pride indeed flew out the window.

"Difficult? Really?" she asked, the small smile on her lips and the upward inflection to her voice almost making him miss the fact that she was teasing him. "Big, bad you had a hard time?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes," he said, his voice flat and already tired of her taunting. "Big, bad me." He looked to the side, still able to vividly recall the look in his opponent's eyes, the determination and ignorant resolve to Kimimaru's voice. "But this guy was something else. He used attacks you wouldn't believe, was able to survive things no human would." Sakura had paused at the sudden drop in his tone of voice, the jeering glint in her eyes fading over to that worry once again. "He would have killed Lee…" There was a pause, something telling Sakura that this thought of his wasn't quite finished and she waited in apprehension. "He almost killed me."

Sakura sucked in a breath. "Oh, gods," she breathed, suddenly upon him again as if this news somehow changed his physical state. Her finger touched his face, turning his chin to make him look at her. "Why didn't you _say_ something?" she demanded, a shake to her voice once again. This seemed less hurt or heartbroken and more so panicked or possibly even annoyed. "My god, I can't believe I went on about myself like that after-"

"Sakura, stop," he insisted, taking her hands in his and pulling them from his face. "I'm fine, nothing to worry over."

"Almost _killed_ you?" she repeated, a strange mix of impatient disbelief on her face. " _Nothing to worry over?"_

"Yes, Sakura," he retorted quickly, only the slightest bit of annoyance showing through in his voice. "I know what I said."

"No," she stated outright. "No, you don't get to say shit like, oh yeah, I almost died, no big deal." She scoffed, almost wishing she could slug him once really good in the shoulder like she did with Naruto when he was being dense. "I mean, Christ! What did I say to you the last time? Where was your back up?" she demanded.

"I had none." She nearly choked so Gaara took it upon himself to elaborate. "The scouting party wouldn't be equipped to deal with any rouges in league with Orochimaru, they had to stay behind. I would have only trusted Temari or Kankuro out there and after my fight, I even doubted if they would be all right on their own."

Her brow pulled together as her eyes shifted quickly over his features, appearing as though he looked different to her suddenly. "Gaara," she urged, stepping closer to emphasize herself. "You're not serious…you were _alone_?" He simply nodded. "Oh," she breathed. Her lips trembled again, her hands found his shirt but her fingers shook as she took hold of it.

He knew what was coming, he could see it in the way her shoulders tensed and her eyes fell from his face. He took hold of her and helped guide her to sit on her bed. She sunk to the mattress, her determined grip on his shirt forcing him to sit with her. Her eyes seemed lost in thought when she spoke again, trying to wrap her head around the words he'd said. "You were careful?"

He nodded. "As I could be."

She only leaned against him in response, her head resting on his shoulder as her arm slipped around his. She was trembling again and it almost baffled him, but she had offered him some sense of explanation soon enough. "Be careful," she urged, her words spoken so quietly with her lips so close, the soft heat of her breath just barely ghosting over his neck. "I said people needed you."

"I know," he said quickly after. "I remember."

"I'm one of them, you know?" She paused as if waiting for him to respond, but her words had caused his throat to close shut and his mouth to suddenly run dry. He could only nod even though, no, he'd never thought she'd ever need him. If anything he thought he'd only end up needing her. She sighed, probably at his lack of verbal reply, and simply made herself more comfortable at his side. He was suddenly all too aware of the arm he had untangled from hers to slip around her, of the softness of her hair against his neck, of that pressure she placed against him, that resistance and that warmth.

"If Sasuke's gone," she said, her words trying their best to be strongly spoken. "If my team is falling apart and…well, I can't lose you too. Just, I don't know, be careful, I guess." He nodded his agreement again, unable to put words in his own mouth. "I'm sorry I broke it," she said after a moment. "I didn't mean to."

"It's all right," he replied simply, his voice a little rough past the lump in his throat but she paid it no mind.

Sakura paused a moment, though, pouting over her small loss, and there was that shy, almost embarrassed tepidness to her voice again. "Do you…do you think I could have another?"

Gaara scoffed, almost tempted to shake his head. "You don't need it, you stick out enough on your own."

Her pout was more noticeable now. "Well, still…" she muttered.

"Fine," Gaara relented. "I'll think of something."

"Good," she said, an upturn to her voice, like a smile he could hear. "How long will you stay in town?" she asked. He felt her turn her face to him just a little more, felt her hair and the tip of her nose brush against his jaw, gods how he fought the deep thumping of his heart.

"I don't know," he said curtly, worried how his voice might betray him. "The others haven't left yet."

Sakura pondered this a moment, thinking of her friends all battered and bruised at the expense of a futile effort. She thought of Naruto and how he must be drowning himself in self-blame, though of Lee and how he'd risked his recovery and his future just to try and help them, thought of Temari and Kankuro, how they had dropped their missions to come to an ally's aid. There were so many people that cared about them, so many people that came together for them.

If she thought about it, now that her head was a little clearer and her thoughts weren't so plagued by sorrow and guilt, she realized that it hadn't been them who failed Sasuke this day. They hadn't failed to show him the goodness there was to still live for, failed to convince him of his home within their lives and within their city, failed to be there for him.

It was him, it was Sasuke that had failed all of them. Oh, how it still hurt, and it would continue hurting – she knew, but even now, even as she sat in the presence of her quiet and trusted friend, and felt some of the guilt lift from her shoulders. She leaned into him more, he moved instantly, making room for her to be comfortable even though he was obviously stiff and unsure of his movements.

"Stay with me a while?" she asked quietly. Stay with her? Here? How could he say no? How many times had he stared at that address of hers and wondered what lay on the physical side of things? "At least until my parents get home?"

"You're sure?" Gaara asked, his eyes drifting along the walls and the tables and the half-open closet and absorbing everything he could. He could tell she was calmer now, something closer to stable, and he could busy himself with memorizing all that he could.

"Mhm," she mumbled. "Please?"

"Sure," he agreed, this little space of hers offering so much peace and sanctuary even to his foreign self, the pressure of her weight against him, the privacy of her intoxicating company…how could he pull himself away? How had Sasuke been such a fool? "As long as you need."

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


	4. Installment 3 (1)

Okay, guys! It's that time again! This installment is gonna be a doozy. I really love the Sunagakure Support Mission episodes because once again we get to see the vulnerability of Gaara and I think that only makes him a powerful protagonist with a little more believability. I also love the way that Shikamaru and Temari team up again and I will also be including some of that battle as well, I hope everyone enjoys it. I'm going to be putting a lot of effort into this because I feel this story arc has such potential for character development and relationship development. There's so much that happens, so many little conflicts and internal struggles, and though I love it, I won't be able to write all of it for sake of time and length of these chapters. I'm hoping to only make this installment a two-parter like the first. (Fingers crossed.)

Because there are so many characters included in this particular story, I'm going to be cutting some of them out. People like Choji and Ino won't really play much to the advancement of this fanfic's plot as a whole, so I'll be putting my energy into making the remaining present characters as well written as I can.

I hope you enjoy.

Follow the Sun, Excerpts in Time

Installment 3 (1)

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

The rooftop on which she sat was vacant, no one else to accompany her as she waited on a small bench in the shade of an overhang. The air was warmer today, warmer than it had been recently, and although most saw it as a blessing from the recent chills on the wind, Sakura saw it for what it really was. The seasons were changing, finally the creeping cold was taking a firmer grip, and this sudden warm front was merely a misleading precursor for much colder weather to follow. It didn't bother her any, she liked the long sleeves and the cozy jackets, the smell of nutmeg and warm chai, and of course the comfort food her mom made to warm the blood. This warmth to the air wouldn't last, and when it finally left, the snow would take its place.

But as it were, the weather was nice enough for her usual tunic and capris, it had even been dry enough for her sandals, too. So, intending to enjoy the last sunny days of fall, Sakura agreed to take a letter addressed the Nara house to Shikamaru personally. Well, more so addressed to his father, but it was his son who was tasked with its retrieval. It was a chance to get out of the tower, a chance to stretch her legs and feel the sun on her skin before returning to her training. It had been a hard few weeks and, even though she had been anticipating a flood of knowledge and a plethora of challenges, she hadn't been prepared for how truly extensive it all was. And she had only just begun. She had years, decades even, before she could even hope to surpass any of the masters of her freshly found trade. It couldn't be helped, it was thoughts like that which always found doubt within her, and she supposed that was why she had jumped at the opportunity for an errand. It was a chance to breathe. Though, this letter wasn't the only one she had with her and, in the privacy of the rooftop, she pulled a few folded pages from a pocket on her field belt.

She truly did appreciate the letters she'd gotten from Temari. It had been months since she'd seen her and, if it weren't for these scattered contacts she would have feared their friendship to be over. But once things had been established, Temari had proven to be a prompt and faithful pen pal. It was a good thing, too. Things had been so chaotic last she was here, when Sasuke had left and she'd been reduced to mere shambles. Sakura hadn't even seen her and only had just a few words given through Shikamaru to say Temari was thinking of her.

Sakura didn't like to think about it…she didn't like to remember what that night did to her. It was like remembering a stranger, really; a familiar face with unfamiliar thoughts and uncomfortable feelings. Those memories always hovered at the edge of her mind and sometimes they made her gut twist and her blood feel cold. The more time passed the more difficult it became to see that heartbroken and blundering mess as her own self…what she'd said in her discontent, what she'd done…she was embarrassed, ashamed even.

But the kind words of a friend had indeed helped her in such low times and Sakura was sure she was getting back to her old self…perhaps even more like herself than before. She flipped to the very first letter she'd received, the one that had been weeks late in her own opinion. _Sorry!_ It had begun so informally. _I've been swamped with my patrols recently, haven't found much time for myself._ Sakura knew this was true, even in the few days she spent with Temari at work she could tell she was a hard and dedicated captain. _Bad excuse, I know, but it's all I got._ She had proceeded to fill Sakura in on how their patrols had been, a short briefing that left much to the imagination. _There's always something going on_ , she had said _, I wish we could actually talk about it, I don't have many people for that here_. That always made Sakura's smile fade, knowing that letters simply weren't enough to cover hundreds of miles of distance. _But I'll write again soon, and maybe you could come visit? Just a thought._ A thought she pondered often and, as the days turned colder and the months ticked away, one that promised the warmth of the desert sun and the baking sand.

There were other letters she'd kept with her, certain lines in them always striking a chord in her and, in a way, being just what she needed at times. _I miss your face. We need to plan something._ Then after that; _I heard about what happened on the mission. Apparently you kicked some serious ass…that's my girl._ That one always made her smile, made her a little more confident. And then, of course, there was always; _Gaara told me, don't you dare quit._ Yeah, she'd been sure to keep that response of his, always tucked away safely with her field belt, always there in case she ever needed to read those words again. _She pushes you because she believes in you, even when you don't._

She had some other letters from Gaara with her as well, just a few, and there was never much to them. But she always grinned a little wider when she saw that familiar script of his. He was so brief, so studiously to the point and selective with his words it was almost painful. She knew better than to assume there was nothing beyond what was written, he was a man of another world with a mind busier than most, there was an abundance of thought that wasn't shared with her. But without her necklace, what more did she have beyond these loose papers folded in her pocket?

Nothing…

The breeze twisted through the buildings and brushed passed her on its way, carrying with it the dry and musty air of fall. It was a pleasant distraction from those melancholy thoughts. Something followed the wind, though, something familiar as well as long overdue. Sakura scoffed, not even two steps out the door to the stairs and he'd already lit up a smoke. She slipped the letter from Temari back into her field belt after folding it with care, standing as she did so to greet Shikamaru as he finished rounding a corner to meet her.

"Hey," Sakura greeted with a short nod of her head.

Shikamaru took a long drag and nodded back to her. "Hey," he huffed, smoke leaking from between his lips with every word. "How's it going?" He punctuated his greeting with an exhale of his remaining smoke.

She shrugged, tucking some hair behind her ear as it blew loose in the wind. The sudden chill seemed out of place, reminding her not to get too comfortable with this warm sun. "Fine, just wanted to make sure you actually got this." She held up the enclosed letter and he rolled his eyes as he took it from her.

"So, what's this all about?" he drawled, his cigarette hanging from his mouth as he pried open the envelope.

"First of all," Sakura started, her arms crossing and her tone turning to that usual one she scolded him with. "That letter is actually more for your dad."

"Figures," he scoffed.

"Secondly," she continued. "It's got to do with those new poisons we've been seeing lately. Tsunade was able to break down a sample we managed to get our hands on, she's confident she's got it ready for your dad."

"Sounds good," he mumbled, taking a long drag as he pocketed the envelope, flicking the burning stub of his cigarette when he finished. He shifted his weight, digging in another pocket and pulling out his pack of smokes along with some matches. Sakura sighed, knowing her words held no persuasion with him, and waited as he lit up yet another. "So," he muttered around the cotton filter between his lips, clasping his hands around the flame and protecting it from the wind. "What's up?"

Sakura shrugged and looked off to the side, out over the rooftops of the city. There used to be thick canopies of green nestled between them, they were almost all bare branches now. "Nothing much," she said, her tone casual. "Just the usual."

"Yeah," Shikamaru agreed, a short nod to accompany his words. "I can see that."

Sakura turned to him more forwardly, something about the words he chose were not sitting right with her. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just…it's been a while is all." He took another drag from his cig, the smoke hanging in the air around his face in a way only an addict could tolerate.

Sakura felt some sort of defensive nature bubble up in her chest, her mind jumping to that same conclusion it always did, the same conclusion everyone else came to about her. She fought it down as best she could, but she was unable to hide the way her lips hardened into a thin line before she spoke. "How many times do I have to say that-"

"You're fine," Shikamaru interrupted. "I _know_." He sucked in more smoke, there something almost impatient about how he did it. "I'm not talking about Sasuke leaving. You should know me better than that. I'm talking about the _other_ thing."

Sakura sighed. "What about it?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Like I said, it's been a while. It's been months, but you still think about it."

There was a pause before Sakura spoke, her tone changing as her voice grew quieter, eyes growing distant as if listening to a hollow wind and seeing an arid land he hadn't appreciated as she did. "I miss it," she admitted. "I wasn't there on a mission, it's easy to get lost in it all when you can spare a moment to look…like, actually _look_."

"That's all you miss?" he asked rather skeptically. "The _looking_?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, trying to keep back a smirk. "Oh, shut up. You know what I mean, I miss her, too." Shikamaru nodded at this, his eyes drifting to the concrete. Sakura watched him for a moment, quietly observing the way he seemed to go quiet and almost more distant at her mention. She smirked, eyeing him with hopeful suggestion. "You could always try and snag a vacation with me, you know? I know you want to see her again," she teased, enjoying how he darted his eyes up to hers, a scoff to confront her blunt assumption.

"As if," he countered, suddenly looking away as if the mere suggestion weren't even worth his time.

"I got some news from them," Sakura continued, ignoring his persistence in avoiding the subject. "Came to the tower this morning."

"Oh, yeah?" he muttered, a long drag off his cigarette to mark him as uninterested. Sakura couldn't hide the small shake of her head…as if. "What kind of news?"

Before she could even speak, they were interrupted by a familiar voice calling to them from the rooftops. Well, calling to _her_. "Sakura!"

They both looked over to see Naruto jump down from an adjacent roof, his chest heaving and his face was flushed. "Naruto," she answered, her voice a little dull from the shock of his sudden appearance.

He marched up to them with purpose, his hands nearly fists at his side. "How could you do this to me?" he demanded, his eyes darting hastily over to Shikamaru, turning rightfully sour as he did so, before falling back on her.

"Excuse me?" she managed to say. Shikamaru seemed content not to say anything in response to that look he'd been given.

"After all the times I ask you out you reject me –"

Oh god…not this. Why must he keep this up?

"Here I find you on a date with _him_!" he finished, seeming to snarl his last words as he returned his glare to Shikamaru. It was clear now, why Naruto was so upset with him, and he nearly choked on the remnants of his cigarette in his haste to explain himself.

He coughed, having sucked some smoke down wrong, and waved his hands. "Hey, _no_ , no!"

"Woah!" Sakura exclaimed. "Watch it! Naruto, we are not on a date, I'm delivering a letter for him to give to his father," she explained, folding her arms stubbornly over her chest. She frowned at him, her brows scrunching together. "Don't just assume things or I'll start going along with it, see how you like your assumptions then."

Naruto laughed, a short and thoroughly nervous laugh as he ran a hand through his hair. He was clearly embarrassed and the tint to his cheeks only added to his stupor. "Sorry, guys…but hey," he said, hesitating a moment as he turned to Sakura. "I _am_ leaving tomorrow…" he pressed, giving her a hopeful glance.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. Honestly, he could be as persistent as Lee sometimes. "Not a chance. But, I will have lunch with you as a _friend_. Now," she said, leaving him dejected and refused as every other time before. Turning back to Shikamaru, she continued. "As I was saying, turns out Suna is starting up a younger training program, they're letting certain chunin take on groups for observation and training. You can only imagine who the top candidates were."

He shook his head, a smirk forming on his lips once again. "You've got to be kidding me, of all people…"

Sakura filled his short silence. "Hey, now. I think they'll do fine."

"Oh, I know," he said, almost brushing it off in favor of his previous thought. "I just can't believe they'd allow _her_ to have students." He took a long pull from his cigarette, his mind flushing out all of those snapshots of her he had locked away. He often thought of one snapshot in particular. It was the one before their match, when he'd been shoved to the ground and she had come for him with that thrill of the fight in her eyes; terrifying and yet…in a way, stunning. "She's gonna eat them alive."

"It's only just started," Sakura clarified, always quick to snuff out such snide remarks. "All three of them are excellent candidates for the position, Temari especially since she's directed scouting teams before."

Shikamaru paused at this as Naruto seemed to burst with glowing excitement. "What!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening with wondrous disbelief. "You mean Gaara is teaching new genine now? No way! That's amazing!"

Sakura smiled at him and nodded, sharing in his excitement in the new development. She hoped it would only mean better relations between him and the people of his country, the government included.

"So," Shikamaru said offhandedly, his eyes calculative again, deep in thought. "Does this mean she's not a scout anymore? Not a captain?"

Sakura paused, unsure if she had the correct answer, but gave her honest opinion. "I don't think so. She wouldn't drop having her own patrol and her own title just to train some newbies. She's got to be doing it on the side."

There was a conflicting moment of relief and apprehension that crossed Shikamaru's face after that. As if to say he was glad, she had worked hard and should keep the gains she'd earned, but at the same time, they were all still so young, would it prove too much to bear on her own?

He shook the thought from his head and lifted the envelope. "We good?" he asked, his pale smoke slipping away on the breeze.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, everything he needs should be in there. You leaving already?" she asked, hoping maybe he would stay and catch up with her a little longer. It was often one could make him an errand boy to come see her.

He nodded, fully ignoring the way her lip tilted down to a half frown at his answer. "I got stuff to do." It was a pitifully vague excuse but that seemed to be his specialty.

"All right," Sakura sighed. "Next time?"

He nodded once more, turning as he did so, and with a final wave to Naruto, he walked away to the steps. He disappeared around the corner and soon the door to the building opened and shut behind him.

Naruto huffed. "What was that all about?"

Sakura shrugged, slipping back down to her seat on the bench. "He gets that way about her, I swear," she mumbled. Naruto peeked over at her, only half listening but now fully curious. "Never mind," she said, brushing it aside. "So tell me, how are you feeling about this traveling training thing?"

He grinned, clearly boasting his confidence before words could even be expressed. But in place of the warmth his grin normally brought her, there was only a moment of hurt. She'd lose that face too, just as she had lost his, but…at least Naruto promised to come back.

"I'm gonna kick this training in the butt! I know it, Sakura," he said, that fiery determination he always had still burning in his eyes. "This is what I have to do, I have to get stronger, and Jiraiya is the only one who can help me reach my goal."

Sakura smiled. His optimism, his confidence, it all gathered around him like a glow to his features. He burned with determined anticipation and Sakura knew that, even though she didn't know what precisely, Naruto was teetering on the edge of something grand, something waiting out in the world for him and him alone. It made her heart swell with warmth and joy for another.

"Hey," she spoke after a moment. "I still got some time before Lady Tsunade expects me back. How about that lunch?"

"Oh yeah!" he agreed with a sudden uplift to his cheeks. "Can we go for Ramen? You've got to try this new bowl at Ichiraku's."

With a nod, Sakura followed after him as he eagerly led the way off the roof and to the streets. Her feet touched the ground again, and once in the crowd she called out to him. "Hey, go on ahead, I'm gonna stop home for my money," she explained, pointing off towards the other direction, towards home. "My treat today, okay?"

Naruto nodded, happy to know his meal would be free, and walked on with the flow of the crowd. Sakura turned on a heel and walked briskly down the street, knowing if she weren't quick enough her moment of generosity would cost her more than just _one_ complimentary bowl.

…

Damnit, of _course_ her mother had to be home. Almost out the front door with her cash and her mom had just stepped in from the back. She'd called out for her daughter and had proceeded to insist with help in the garden, the refusal wasn't a quick discussion either. Now, finally free from the grips of home, Sakura was on her way back to the Ichiraku's stand. There was a little more spring to her step than there had been before, the picture of Naruto surrounded by empty bowls all with a place on her bill was a haunting vision indeed. She rounded a corner, almost there, only four more blocks and, sure enough, the scent of savory broth and rich, hearty meats hung faintly in the air.

It was who was waiting for her around the corner that really caused her surprise. Shikamaru was there and, though not shocked as she was, he seemed out of breath, as if he'd been running. That struck her as odd initially, but the absence of the characteristic cigarette from the corner of his mouth – well, that made it seem altogether baffling.

"Shikamaru!" she exclaimed, a hand coming to her chest as if to try and steady her heart. "What are you doing?"

"Sakura," he huffed. "I've been looking for you. We've got to get going." He began to walk past her, grabbing her wrist as he did so and pulling her along. Not at all forceful, but she could feel the urgency behind his touch, the tension of the muscle all the way up his arm. "It wasn't long after I left the roof that I got word from the tower about an attack."

Sakura sucked in a breath, turning to follow him without hesitation at the word. "Attack?" she repeated. "Where?"

"Suna," he answered quickly.

"What?" she blurted, her feet stopping suddenly beneath her.

Shikamaru turned to face her. "Listen carefully," he said, clearly not wanting to repeat himself. "The training program you told me about?" She nodded, the faces of her friends being thrust to the forefront of her mind. She resisted the urge to chew nervously on her lip. "It was attacked, one of the students was taken."

"Taken," Sakura repeated again, sounding as if his words confused her. "A student?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes, we've received a request for assistance. The target made off with the captive towards the Land of Rivers." He found no need to have this conversation standing still any longer, he turned quickly and continued down the street with Sakura close behind.

"Who?" Sakura pressed. "Who was the student?"

"An inexperienced upstart, a girl by the name of Matsuri. According to the few details on the mission file, she's Gaara's only student."

Sakura felt her chest grow cold, like one heartbeat in particular was filled with ice. She slowed again, her feet losing pace below her. Gaara's only student…only? Her lips parted around her gasp and she reached out to grab Shikamaru's attention. "Wait! If she's the one they took, his _only_ student, then it can't be about her. It's got to-"

"I know," Shikamaru said stopping her short. He turned to look at her as they managed their way through the crowds of the main drags. His gaze had seemed softer, as if he were trying to be reassuring. "They made it clear Gaara is the primary target. Matsuri is just bait."

Sakura felt her throat start to shake, a panic bubbling up within her in response to ambiguous fear. Fear that they were too far away to help, that they would be too late, or there would be nothing they could do…

"What do we do?" Sakura asked, the waver in her voice dying back to make way for a steady determination.

"I've got a team assembling. You'll go on ahead with Shino, I want you there when things get started in case someone needs you." Sakura kept her curse to herself. She had _just_ been home were all of her personal field kits were kept, ones more suited to this sort of mission, had she only known... "I'm sending a few pairs on ahead, the rest of us will be close behind. Here," he said, passing her a small folded piece of paper. She opened it as he continued. "It's a brief summary of the mission, I've spoken with Shino a little more in depth about it."

Sakura nodded. "Got it. Shino is waiting for me?"

With a nod from Shikamaru, Sakura split from him as he went to gather more of their team, and she left to meet up with Shino. Quickly reading over the short notes on her paper, Sakura mused over the names they had given themselves. The Four Celestials…four of them, all thinking they were godlike and worthy of the name. Takumi village…that name sounded familiar, like she had heard it mentioned somewhere, but she simply couldn't place it. Just the thought of it all sent a chill through her bones, a cold that was meant to warn her, meant to preserve her. These men would prove to be dangerous, anyone purposely going after Gaara would be, but it caused no fear to rise within her, only worry.

Gaara would not let his student perish, he would not stand idly by while someone was kidnapped all for the sake of toying with him. He was already out there, she knew it, following them, looking for her, for Matsuri. Sakura wished desperately that she still had her necklace so she could better feel the buzzing of life that meant he was close, so that he could feel her and know he wasn't alone, that help was coming. But without it, she could do nothing but hurry.

Hurry and hope.

She thought of Naruto as she reached the city limits and spied Shino waiting for her down the path. He would be waiting for her at the ramen stand, patiently slurping away at his mounting pile of bowls as the minutes ticked by. She felt bad about standing him up like this, but she didn't need to ask to know Shikamaru intended to include him on this mission and he had taken off quickly to gather the rest of them. He would know her reasons soon enough, and after Naruto was involved, those conniving Celestial bastards would have hell to pay.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Gaara had finally managed to catch a break, a moment to be out of reach and think, to take a much needed second look at his fresh memories. It had all happened so quickly, there had hardly been any room for thought.

Taking action as quickly as possible, he and his siblings had left the walls of Suna and entered the blistering heat of the desert within record time. Though, in truth, they could have been more prepared. When they scouted the very trails they used today with Temari's team, they adorned cloaks and goggles, scarves and reserve canteens of water, backup communications and basic medical supplies. As if to answer his rapid thoughts, the pockets on the strap of his gourd, as well as his usual field supply storage on his person, all felt much too light and much too empty for his liking. Without time to gather equipment for the trek through the desert, Gaara was left with no choice; he had to fast travel through the sand, his siblings in tow. It drained him noticeably, but he saw this as a necessity, his team had to be in fighting condition and a hard run through the desert without their supplies would surely exhaust them both.

It was a relief when, even through the swift travel he had swallowed them up in, he could feel the sandy dunes give way to rocky ground and dusty grasslands. It was a short jump from there to the forest where he materialized his siblings once again. In the thick cover of the trees he could use their eyes and their ears working with his own, and the added density of the canopy would indeed slow down the enemy. With a team like his, it didn't take long for them to catch up, splitting off into their own separate battles and leaving him to this contemplative moment he had. Though this time for reflection only caused more questions, and the answers he found were only ones to scoff and curse at. His bitter thoughts would do him no good now, however, they wouldn't turn back the clock to before he left the training yard, before he left her alone, allowing her to be taken. He should have known, he should have felt that something was off, that someone foreign was dangerously close…

 _Damnit_ , how could he have been so distracted? So careless? Saying Matsuri was a work in progress was an understatement, she was work that hadn't even begun. He figured she'd spend all day trying get the hang of her weapon and it wouldn't hurt to duck away for a little while. He'd been a fool, however, unknowingly playing right into the hands of enemies he didn't know he even had. Just who were these people? Celestials? Gaara looked at the man he shared a battleground with; large, with angular and mean looking features, and he was heavily armored though Gaara's sand barely noticed the weight of his spiked flail. The man had brute strength and surprising speed for such weight and cumbersome armor, but _godlike_? Hardly.

There must be something he wasn't seeing, something that posed more of a threat to the mission, to himself. It was hard to deny, after all, the unease had he felt in the conference room when receiving their orders for this retrieval could practically be cut with a knife. Kankuro had even voiced his own objection to Baki's favor of the council's choices. _How could you_ , Kankuro had asked, _you're doing precisely what the enemy wants_. Gaara had wondered why Baki wasn't assigned to assist as well, his skill and prowess on the battlefield always proved very useful. The question hadn't sat well with either of them and their answer was no better; he was needed on another mission…that's what they had said. The high council intended to send Gaara straight into enemy hands, like walking headfirst into a trap, and they couldn't even be bothered to hide the obvious. Well, any more so than _he_ was used to, at least.

In hindsight, it was foolish to give Gaara this mission with his mentor in the room, it was always so clear on Baki's face when he knew the council's intent. At Kankuro's words, there was a look of apprehension that came over Baki, a moment of hesitation that flickered away as quickly as it had come. In a man as trained and disciplined as their mentor, the look lasted no more than a moment, but of course, Gaara had noticed. He always did, after all. So, it was another suicide mission? So be it, but what had the council told Baki that wasn't meant for their ears? What secrets did these people intent on battling him truly hold? He thought back to his last trip to the forest, to his encounter with Orochimaru's puppet that almost claimed his life. He'd left his own family with chances he had soon discovered were much too slim, and the luck with which they prevailed was unprecedented.

Gaara shuttered to think of what awaited them if that was the case here as well. They'd been confident enough, familiar with the enemies preferred tactics as they appeared, but Gaara himself had been the end of many confident men, and knew the downfalls such vanity could bring. He hoped that they would be quick, that they would be safe, and that any allies to answer the call to aid would be upon them soon.

But the matter at hand was still enough to make him sweat. He scowled, frustration and anger boiling up within him as that distorted and crackled voice spoke at the back of his mind, putting words to his doubts, and giving light to all those that still wished him dead. Again... _again_. Had he failed to be deserving of just one chance? Just _one_? What had he done? Who had he crossed this time? No one had died, he had fought those ungodly urges more than he'd ever tried before, taken on challenges and missions no one else wanted, and even with their own countrymen in the line of fire the council refused to send secondary aid from their own militia. Just because of him, because of who he was, they simply left it to their allies to assist in the retrieval of an innocent bystander.

The thought caused his throat to tighten. They were the only ones to ever help, to try and show him the proper path out of that despair he had built around himself. It seemed only fitting to lean on them now.

The voice in his head cackled at this. _Him_? Lean on _them_? Nonsense, not when all he had to do was relinquish that control he struggled so hard to maintain. Tempting, he had to admit, just as it always was, but no. Gaara knew the bribe of effortless power was one of lies and deceit, it seemed to be the only language the beast could speak in, and he was determined to prove that smug and arrogant creature wrong; Gaara didn't need him.

"So, tell me," Suiko said. "That sand of yours, it's impressive. Just how much of your chakra do you waste keeping it at the ready like that?"

Gaara felt his brow twitch and, as if in response, Suiko quickly spun his iron flail and swung it back at him once again. His speed with the weapon was quick, but Gaara's sand was quicker. It sprung up from where it hovered at his feet, hardening on some subconscious and unknown command, and stopped the spikes dead in their tracks.

"Waste?" Gaara questioned, repeating Suiko's word of choice. Surely he could see how there was nothing wasted here, it was simply effortless.

Suiko smirked, seeming to enjoy his difficulty in striking his opponent. "I wonder," he mused, his arms heaving back on the long handle of his flail. The iron spikes tore from the stone like grip of his hardened sand, but there was something more as the flail swung back around to its master, a further resistance…no, a pulling. "Just how much of your chakra do you have in there?"

"Care to find out?" he challenged. His answer was another attempted blow, easily thwarted by the sand in the air, and as Suiko pulled back his weapon the sand followed it back at Gaara's command. It swirled around Suiko, gathering him up and crushing the spikes of the swinging mace to his side. The look of shock and perhaps even fear was short lived as the sand swallowed up his face.

It required no more than a moment's thought for Gaara, the technique in question was a reliable failsafe, used so repetitively throughout his missions it was like second nature. The sand twisted and convulsed around its victim, writhing as it smothered him. Gaara felt no need to waste time and he outstretched a hand. The tension, the line of energy that connected him to the grains, he felt it draw tight under his command and grabbed hold of that power. The sand hardened under his grip, his will crushing the grains until the very matter of the sand gave way and they fused into something harder under all that pressure.

It crunched, a harsh and broken sound of grinding with the friction of grain against grain, and the heat that resulted due to all that pressure…he could almost smell it in the air. Finishing the deed and dropping his hand, Gaara waited a moment, something feeling off about this particular time. The bodies would normally drop, limp and lifeless after their whole being was simultaneously crushed. But there was still some rigidity to this man. Gaara felt his brow pull together and the bridge of his nose crinkle as he scowled. He wasn't very fond of this Suiko man. The sand fell from his body as he stood from it, he rolled his head on his shoulders, cracking his neck and seeming to smirk at him.

Well, _that_ surely pissed him off.

"My," Suiko sighed. "That sure was something."

"How?" Gaara demanded, the word jumping from his tongue before he could even think.

Suiko chuckled. "My armor," he boasted, a hand coming to smack heavily against the thick chest plate he wore. "And my mace, as well. You see," he continued, seeming no worse for wear after being smothered by the deadly grip of Gaara's sand. "It drains the chakra of anyone it comes into contact with. Every blow you block with your sand, every attack you make with it, it all feeds off the chakra used to power it and the armor drains you of it all." He chuckled again, amused with Gaara's predicament it seemed. "The more you try and strike me, the stronger my armor will become." He readied his flail, the spiked ball mace at the end swinging with deep whooshes through the air. The momentum carried the mace to straight to Gaara, soaring quickly through the air like a blur.

The look of surprise on Suiko's face was not lost on Gaara, it appeared that he hadn't been expecting his mace to be so blatantly grabbed after explaining the trickery behind the energy-sucking weapon. This didn't matter to Gaara, however, he had plenty more chakra where that came from. The sand in his gourd seeped out into the air, joining the rest in the defense of its master. That look of confidence on Suiko's face wavered, and who could blame him? The sand; free-floating and independent of any earthly tethers, churned in the air around Gaara and the stolen weapon, alien looking and altogether otherworldly, like a lifeform of its own mind and will. His doubts went deeper than just his expression though…just who _was_ this kid? There was more to him than just that beast.

The sand piled up beneath Gaara, raising him above the ground and continuing up toward the canopy of the trees. Suiko cried out as the handle of his flail was pulled and, desperate to hold on to his weapon and the power source it provided, he held it tight as Gaara raised them into the trees. It took only moments to break the canopy and, once in the full light of the sun, Gaara raised a hand, commanding his sand as he did so, and Suiko was subsequently swung through the air. The action of his command need only last a moment and his sand would continue his will with steadfast obedience.

Gaara eyed Suiko as he rounded his line of sight again and again, clinging desperately to the handle of his flail as his momentum made him slip inch by inch to the end of his grip. Here, Gaara had time to reach out his sight into the surrounding forest, to see the status of his siblings. After all, the centrifugal force of Suiko's momentum would be enough to keep him subdued as was needed.

He closed his eyes, taking a breath to steady his heart and quiet his thoughts, a good crack of his knuckles never hurt either. Gaara could almost feel as his thoughts went down, leaving his physical form and permeating the sand on which he stood. He could feel the difference, like a distinct barrier between the familiar of his own head, and the hard, textured and grainy words spoken with the earth. Like glimpses of echoes across the land, the ground spoke in vibrations, letting him feel what it had to tell him, and it had taken years to prefect this language he shared with it. It was all there, willing to tell him everything he needed to know, he just had to know how to listen.

His listening had paid off this time, and he felt the oncoming of a familiar presence. He peered closer with his mind's eye, hoping to find his brother, or perhaps his sister back from their battle. But no, it was familiar, but not _that_ familiar. This person was not alone, he soon discovered, and with a jolt he recognized the swiftly approaching forces. Gaara's eyes snapped open as he turned his gaze to their direction.

"Naruto?"

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Shikamaru resisted the urge to wipe the sweat that dripped down from his temple, afraid of what would happen if he broke his concentration and his hand sign. At first, he could barely believe his eyes; Temari was just sitting there, doing nothing about that cutthroat attack coming straight for her. She'd been unconscious, it was soon obvious, but he'd never expected to see her such a way in battle, and his reaction time couldn't have been quicker. It wasn't often that he impressed himself, but when he was fully expecting to see that tree she laid on bathed in her blood, well…it was hard not to give himself a pat on the back.

Even from where he was a few paces back, he could hear her groan as she regained consciousness and tried to resist the grip of his shadow. He refused to release his jutsu, lest her feet fail and she plummet. He kept her rigidly balanced on the branch, giving her just enough free movement to look back and spy him. Recognition washed over her face, and with it a clarity about her eyes that Shikamaru found a little more comforting. The shadow released her and just like the woman he knew her to be, Temari fluidly regained her feet and stood with that confidence she carried so well. It was so effortlessly becoming of her, especially here, in a forested battleground laid to ruin by her mastery of the wind.

"Well," she sighed, that voice of hers sounding smoother than he remembered. How long had it been since Sasuke left? Even since he'd been to the desert? "If it isn't the little crybaby." Her lips pulled unevenly into a smirk that could even made the dirt on her face seem charming. "So you're the one the leaf trotted out for me, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, a roll of his eyes to accompany his words. "Save it, won't you? I've got a favor to return, and it looks like you could use the help."

His words had definitely struck a chord within her. She scoffed, throwing a sneer back his way as she turned to face their opponent once again. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Shikamaru was about to speak, about to retort one could only assume, but Kujaku moved in the distance and gained their full attention. A flash of bright light sparked against the canyon walls as her twin swords glinted in the sunlight. Temari quickly readied her fan, her shoulder still aching with a deep throb from her collision with the tree, the muscles in her neck and shoulders crying out in protest after such a throw, but she persevered. The wind was so saturated with power that it was visible, not just with debris, but in the way it distorted the picture of what lay beyond it, as if it bent the very light that traveled through it.

Temari spread her fan, the heavy iron plates sliding smoothly over one another and locking into place. She groaned as she hauled it forward, slicing the blades through the branch to support it against the oncoming wind, and she hunkered down behind it. Shikamaru, keen as always, followed her lead and made way for where the cyclone of wind would be broken and least dangerous. The wind erupted around her fan as it passed, as if it burst from the calm skies around her, and she could feel the power it held, like it carried a hard rain, needles against her skin.

With the speed it held, the wind passed quickly enough, and she looked back to Shikamaru. He seemed fine, perhaps a little windblown as it were, but he quickly closed the distance remaining between them.

"That wind is incredible," he said, his eyes fixated on the woman in the distance. "It's filled with power."

Temari scoffed, her hand gripping the end of her fan and ripping it from the branch.

The swords glinted again, more wind kicking up sticks and leaves into the swirling cyclones. She raised her fan, the pain in her shoulder searing with a heat that promised weeks of recovery if she overdid it, and poured her chakra into the iron. It resonated under her fingers, like vibrations through the very structure of the iron that she could control, and she sent those vibrations outward. They latched onto the air, dragging it along with the force of her chakra, and threw it back in the face of her enemy. The winds clashed in the middle of the battlefield, the sound of the counter-spinning currents hit the ears hard, screeching as they scraped against one another and battled for dominance of the skies.

"It's not the wind," Temari felt the need to clarify. "And it's not _her_ either. It's those twin swords of hers. They take her chakra and amplify it, ten fold if you believe her claims."

Shikamaru sighed, looking over the chopped remains of the forest around them. Even with the added shadows cast on the ground by the fallen branches and sections of trunks, Kujaku was still too far away for his shadow to reach. "Damn," he cursed under his breath. He looked over to Temari, gaining her attention with a quick glance to her side. "Maybe I can trap her, but I need to get closer."

She nodded, the muscles in her arms pulling tight beneath her skin as she readied her fan. "I'll do my best," she said, her brow pinching together in determination, her jaw clenched tight as she heaved the fan high into the air and, with a controlled grace, swung it back around as a whirlwind – no, a funnel cloud; a goddamn tornado came to life from her swing. It burst into the air from what looked to be nothing, charging forward with determined precision.

With no time for shock and awe, Shikamaru launched forward, Temari quick behind, and they gained what distance they could before that cyclone of wind and energy, an impressive force to lash at a foe, was inevitably thrown back at them. When the wind circled back, Shikamaru and Temari sought cover behind the steadfast resilience of her fan's iron strength. He was surprised to see how calm she remained under the backlash of her own attacks. The chaotic wind whipped her hair in flurries around her face, the fabric of their clothes smacked harshly against it, and all the while she remained unwavering, unflinching in the turmoil.

Shikamaru couldn't help it, he _was_ awed. He could remember nothing like this when he'd seen her fight before, neither with him, nor against him. With all the deadly force this wind carried she did not fear it, as if she felt no reason to. He couldn't help but muse that this woman, one who came from the desert with a poise that brought an honorable elegance to the harsh land, had made friends of that hollow wind and all the fabled spirits it hid. Perhaps he could use that, see just how much the wind favored Temari over others trying to command it.

He had an idea, some way to perhaps further the reach of his shadow, and he felt it could work as long as she had well enough aim with her cyclones. He thought his words over carefully, however, afraid to sound as though he had doubts in her abilities.

"Temari," he said, taking a step toward her as she turned an ear to him. She never took her eyes off Kujaku. "I need you to hit the waterfall with a cyclone."

"What?" she asked, her eyes breaking concentration for a moment to flicker to the waterfall pouring down the cliff behind their enemy. "Why?"

She looked back, but something had changed, Kujaku was retreating, prancing back on the fallen pieces of the forest and moving closer to the waterfall. She cursed herself, had she seen her look to the falls?

"What is she doing?" Shikamaru mumbled.

They saw the glint of her swords as she raised them and for a moment wondered if they should anticipate an attack. She had power, that was for sure, but she had put even more distance between them and they were already long range fighters. What damage could they do from that distance? Still, Temari took no chances. She readied her fan, spinning out the blades so they formed a protective barrier in front of them, and waited for Kujaku to make a move.

She hadn't been expecting her to stick her swords into the ground, and both she and Shikamaru waited with tense anticipation for something to happen. It was subtle at first, but once she noticed it, it became hard to ignore. There was a power growing under the earth, something moving beneath the ground and churning in a way she had never felt before. Just what was this? An attack? But with a _wind_ sword? Of what possible sort?

"Temari, look," Shikamaru urged, grabbing hold of her arm and pulling her attention from the ground beneath them. She saw the shadows before she even looked up, the flickers of darkness caused by the light crackling overhead. She felt her lips part and her eyes go wide with shock.

"What is that?" she breathed, her eyes following the path of the light, writhing like lightning against the clear sky, and at its end found her brother.

She could barely see him, he was so far away, but above the trees and surrounded by that pulsating light he was clear as day. "Gaara!" she cried out to him, knowing there was no way that her voice could reach him, and could do nothing but watch as the light faded and he was taken down. _Water_ , she thought. Somehow, it _had_ to have been water.

"Temari," Shikamaru said again, his voice more urgent this time. "We've got to finish this before we can do anything else to help."

"But," she began, only to soon pause as if her words hadn't caught up with her brain.

"I know," he pressed, wanting her to believe him. "But I've sent teams to your brothers' aid. Lee and Naruto should be closing in on Gaara's position, he'll be fine. Trust me." She hesitated, her eyes lingering on that collapsing tower of sand in the distance. "Let's take care of things here," Shikamaru said looking back the waterfall, so much closer to Kukaju than before…perhaps better for the two of them. "You with me?"

Temari felt her face harden from worry to a mask of anger, her eyes falling hard on their opponent in the distance. That smug face of hers mocked them as she pulled her blades from the ground. "I'm with you," she said, swinging her fan in front of her and holding it at the ready. "Let's end this."

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Water…of _course_ , he should have known. It came from the light burning into his sand, and the light itself had come from nowhere, shocking the pillar and its internal structure as it shook roughly underneath him. That's when three waterspouts raised up from the ground between those writhing bolts of electric flame, looking like serpents…like dragons, and just as violently as one would expect, they were soon upon him.

It surprised him, when he was struck head-on and thrown from his feet, just how hard water could be. It felt as though he were struck by a brick wall, there was no give to it, no mercy. It soaked through his clothes, through the sand armor he hadn't had time to shed, and he felt his weight pull him swiftly to the ground. Gaara could do nothing but allow that bit of control holding his gourd together to give way, letting it dissolve into a soupy mess alongside the rest of his sand, and give him some semblance of a cushion to land on.

It was a hard landing indeed.

The initial impact had been a freefall met with solid resistance, a sudden dead stop that left his breath carrying on without him, his ribs aching painfully as he tried to gasp in air, and his nerves seemed to hesitate, as if unsure he could handle the pain he would feel if he tried to move. He lifted an arm, his shoulder searing in agony as he did so, and tried with all his might and the stubbornness of his will to lift his sand. It could only give a shaken struggle before falling to the ground, the watered down clumps of it were simply too heavy for his will, for his chakra, for the air itself to carry and support.

Gaara let his head fall back on the sand beneath him, a rough sigh escaping his lips. _Damnit_ , he cursed himself. Every time he came here, _every_ _time_ …and he could really do without the water.

He felt footsteps on the ground beneath him and, with an almost lazy reluctance, lifted his head to greet his guest. Suiko proved tougher than he looked, he'd created quite the dust cloud after Gaara had let him fly off into the trees. He'd become bored of whipping him around as he was, he was simply weight he needn't carry any longer. Yet here he was, stalking up to him with a roll to his shoulder and a smirk on his face that spoke volumes to the type of power these people carried. Gaara could have smacked himself. Why had he left his siblings alone? How could they fare any better than he was? Had he left them to meet their end here in this forest?

Suiko chuckled as he stopped in the clearing. "Fell on a pile of sand, I see?" he jested. "You _would_ do that, wouldn't you?"

Yet again, Gaara let his head fall back to the sand below him, a groan leaving his lips as he did so, or maybe just an exhausted sigh. "Ugh, well _duh_."

"Hmh," Suiko snorted, clearly unhappy with Gaara's sarcasm as most of his opponents seemed to become. "Such insolence," he sneered, raising his flail once more and swinging the mace at its end with intent to kill.

Gaara tried to sit up, tried to summon his sand to block it, or just summon his strength enough to move, but to no avail. The sand was too heavy to move, too bogged down by that accursed water jutsu, and all the same; so was his armor. Unable to shed the weighted crust around him, he could do nothing as the mace swung toward him. Whistling sharply as it split the air around it, Gaara's sand struggled desperately to lift even a few inches from the ground, trying to protect him as that spiked ball of iron made a clear path for him. A futile effort, he knew, but sheer instinct raised his arms up in defense.

Then, all at once, there was a sharp ringing of metal on metal, and the mace and chain clattered harmlessly to the ground in front of him with a single, hard thud. Shocked, he looked up to the man responsible for saving his hide and almost smirked when he spied Lee, standing confident and poised at the ready, as if blocking the mace had been mere child's play. Gaara had the experience and the sore pride of an ass kicking to know better than to doubt that confidence Lee boasted, but Suiko sure as hell didn't.

"What?" he gasped, taking a step back at Lee's sudden appearance. How had he managed to deflect his mace? And why hadn't it drained any chakra from him? What kind of technique did he use to make the kick so strong? "How is it possible?" he demanded, roaring out across the open clearing.

Lee only maintained his focus and this control he emulated over the situation was quickly explained. Springing from the trees, a man took action and caught Suiko by surprise, advancing too quickly to block and landing a solid kick square to his jaw. It was enough to stun any man and it sent him off his feet as he recoiled from the blow.

"Gaara!" Naruto called out, his expression twisted as his brow pulled tight with worry and he breathed heavily through his clenched teeth.

"Naruto," he replied, his voice strained in his chest after his fall, every breath still a painful exertion. Once Gaara had felt Naruto's approach, he hadn't given much thought to their position, knowing that sooner or later they must intercept him. He resisted breathing a sigh of relief, feeling all too well the pressures of what might have been if it weren't for that astounding speed Lee possessed.

Naruto looked over the battleground, eyes confident and clearly eager. "Don't worry," he said, his voice very assuring. "We've got this, you just focus on getting your student back."

Gaara felt that pain in his chest grow cold. Of course, Matsuri. How much time had he spent here, fighting this man and letting their leader make off with her even further? He was sure she wouldn't be killed, she was the bait and _he_ was their target, after all, but he couldn't say they wouldn't hurt her. He felt his jaw clench, no use in pondering, he needed action.

He needed to hurry.

"Be careful," he urged, his voice sounding just as rattled as he felt. "His armor and his mace will drain your chakra if they touch you." Gaara tried to stand, bracing a hand on his shaking knee as he attempted to lift himself from the ground. Gods, he'd never felt his armor so heavy before, so constricting and debilitating to his movements. It was always such an organic thing, something that continuously moved and reformed as needed, it was rather soft really, up until it needed to harden for his defense. This was much different, however, this was stiff like mud hardening all over him, and every movement brought chips and chunks crumbling off.

It was no use. Feeling fatigued as he was and working against his very own defenses just to move, Gaara let out and exhausted huff as he sank back to the ground.

Lee was quick to turn to him. "Gaara," he said, kneeling down next to him. Really, Gaara could have smacked the man, turning his back on the opponent like that? He must have had even more confidence in his reaction time than was to be expected. "Don't push yourself," Lee insisted, his eyes trailing behind them to the dark trees they had come from. "Just wait a moment longer, Sakura will be here soon."

"What?" he breathed as his eyes went wide, the word slipping out so instantaneously he barely heard it himself.

Sakura… _here_?

"She has split from her group and is inbound, just stay here."

 _Alone_? Gaara felt his blood turn to ice through his chest, every heartbeat seeming to tighten even more the last, and more so than with fatigue, he could feel his hands shaking with worry. No…no it couldn't be. Lee sprung forward, assisting Naruto as Suiko began to pick himself up from the dirt. Gaara paid them no mind. He locked eyes to where Lee had glanced, to the trees behind him, and with everything he could muster he willed the ground to tell him what was out there. Temari was instantly recognizable, she was more like himself than Kankuro…she liked to make a mess of things in battle and it made her easy to pinpoint. His brother was another he could find easily, he had remembered where he left them, after all. But searching the entire forest for one person, no matter how familiar that energy was…

Wait.

He felt his heart skip in his chest, a sinking feeling and a weightlessness that clashed uneasily with each other took over his gut; she was close. He'd looked too far out, assuming she would just _have_ to be farther away, any closer and he would have noticed her…but he didn't. Perhaps Naruto had overshadowed her energy, perhaps he'd been too distracted with his situation in battle to perceive her even with the–

Oh, yes, that's right…she didn't have the necklace anymore…she didn't have his beacon. _I'm sorry I broke it, I didn't mean to._ Of course she hadn't meant to, he knew that. _Do you think I could have another?_ Gaara felt his teeth clench in frustration, _why_ had he told her no? Why hadn't he done something _then_? For a moment he looked back to Naruto and Lee, his thoughts turning bitter as he questioned who would have done this…who would have brought her here?

… _Taking people close to you, until everyone you_ …everyone he cares about is gone. Wasn't that what they had said? That was the threat they had killed a squad of gate patrol just to get to him? A cocksure challenge of fight me, or watch me kill people until you do. Gaara was sure that this threat would have been included in whatever report was sent to Konoha. If so, then he could think of no reason for this course of action that he would accept. How could they endanger her like this? Didn't they know that–

Gaara paused, his frustration dying down as a thought struck him. _Did_ they know? Had he ever actually…told anyone? It was a sobering moment when he realized that, no, not in all the memories of her that he'd kept so clear had he told anyone that she was…gods, had he ever even told _her_?

No matter, it did him no use to feel regret now. Here, in this forest, she was in danger, they all were. The possibility of death was palpable in the air, he'd nearly been done in himself had that mace met its mark on his head. Unable to go to her, unable to move much even now as the sand began to dry, he kept vigilant watch over her approach, and waited with anxious and ever-waning patience.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Oxygen was like fire in her lungs, every breath she took – short and shallow though they were – felt like it was stretching them to the breaking point. Her side ached, a deep throbbing pain in her muscles that had started long ago, growing sharper and more of a nuisance the more she tried to ignore it. Still, she persisted. She couldn't stop, she couldn't slow down, not even to dull that stabbing pain in her every breath; there was simply no time.

A person was in trouble. A girl had been abducted from home.

Gaara had been taken down.

The ground had shook under her as the hardened tower of sand collapsed, plummeting to the earth in massive boulders ready to crush anything below them. Gaara fell along with them, she had seen this, and within and instant Sakura had been running. He had been far, however, she could feel it, and she worried that their distance was too great for her to make it in time. She'd taken to the trees and Sakura willed her legs to keep moving even though they burned under her and begged for release from this torture. She would not listen and, instead, pumped her blood with chakra to give her muscles new life. It wouldn't last long, she didn't have the reserves to waste on this, but she _had_ to be faster.

Focus overtook the worry and panic eating at her thoughts and at her heart, making it heavy in her chest. She felt her breathing grow deeper and more even as the act of running became less physical work and more like mental work. Her feet landed with pinpoint precision beneath her, every step a perfect spring that doubled her normal stride, and with the control she had, well…she'd beaten a few records around some of the tracks back home. Hopefully it wouldn't fail her now.

And no, indeed it wouldn't. Sakura could feel it, feel _him_. She was getting close, and now, not only could she feel Gaara, but she could sense his opponent as well. She didn't hesitate, didn't break pace or focus, but she felt uneased about the way that unfamiliar power rolled over her. It didn't feel proper, like something had been done to it, or it had been manipulated somehow. It wasn't much longer until she could hear Naruto through the trees, and Lee as well.

A sigh of relief left her, she couldn't help it, and all the same she felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. Good, they were both still in fighting condition. She drew closer, thanking that Shikamaru had sent such talented young men to assist in this fight, and sprinted the last stretch to the battlefield. The sound of metal ringing in the air resonated through the trees, the tone was one of clashing soldiers in the heat of battle, and before she broke the secrecy of the canopy, she readied herself to draw a blade if needed.

Sakura leapt from the last branch she touched, chakra in her feet effectively absorbing the blow as she landed on the dirt below, and springing it back up, propelling her forward as she ran toward him.

"Gaara!" she called out, not to grab his attention, he'd seen her instantly, it had almost been like he'd been watching that spot. She closed the distance in an instant, kicking dirt to the side as she skid her feet along the ground to a stop. On her knees at once, she was at his side, her face flushed and her hair stuck to her neck and to her temples with sweat. She was desperate for air, her chest heaving with deep breaths that seemed to take the strength from her words. "What on earth happened?" she gasped as she assessed his condition, he couldn't assume it looked too good.

Even so, he was almost taken aback by the swiftness of her approach and it showed in his lack of immediate reply. "It was –"

"My god," she breathed, her hand reaching out touch his arm. She was shaking, her arm trembling. "You're soaked." She started batting at his clothing, trying to get the crusting covering him to crumble off quicker. "I should have been quicker…" she mumbled, her brow pinched tightly together. Fighting her lungs to regain control, her breathing began to even out, that erratic pace slowing just enough to give some more clarity to her actions and her words. She pushed the strap to his gourd from his shoulder, it was far heavier than it had been before, and pulled away the collar of his shirt as well.

"Sakura," he muttered, stopping the movements of her hand. Her breathing may have slowed, but even in his grip her hands still shook. How far had she come just to be here at this moment? How far had she pushed herself? "It's all right."

"No," she said sternly, her expression pulled tight with conviction as she met his gaze to stare him down. She hadn't wiped that hair from her face yet. "You just sit there, and let me work."

He released her hand, something about the worry on her face, the worry she tried to bury under stern demand, it made him…compliant.

She took his obedience without a second thought and began to pool chakra into her hands, intent on peering under that skin and seeing what damage had been done that she could heal. Her efforts were stopped short, however, by another layer of that accursed armor. She seemed to snort in frustration, turning it on him for a moment as she mumbled, "More? Just how many layers do you have?" He figured her question rhetorical and kept his mouth shut.

Gaara fixed his eyes on the fight before them, making sure they kept a safe distance, but maintained his focus on the sand around them. It was still falling in clumps from his body and tried his best to encourage it to shed the weight of the water. It would make it easier for her, she could be quicker that way.

Trying her best to send her focus below that dense armor that hindered him where it should have helped him, Sakura focused her chakra and tried to send it past that barrier. It was solid, fighting against her every step of the way, and filled with a power that kicked back at her own more than she had ever felt in her training until this point. It wasn't always easy to use medical jutsu, sometimes a patient's chakra rejects the medic, thinks they're a threat…but this was different, this was sheer mass of power against her own.

At her side, Gaara could feel the warmth of it all and found that the heat her chakra radiated was comforting, one feeling of safety. For a moment he peered over to see that look of concentration etching grooves between her brows. There was sweat on her skin, focus in her eyes that went far beyond anything that his could see, and just when her expression flickered with the signs of victory, he felt something give way at his shoulder.

Gaara sucked in a breath and jerked back though Sakura followed fluidly after him. She'd broken through the armor, her fingers slipping through the layer and coming into firm contact with his own skin. It shocked him, had him doubling back as if on instinct, and she did her best to calm him. He couldn't fight it, it had felt like ages since someone had actually touched him…and the last time, well, that strike of electricity had him hurting and bleeding, a lot.

"It's okay," Sakura said, her voice quiet. "It's just me. Don't fight it."

She kept her hand on his shoulder, sitting a little more comfortably at his side, and placed her other hand on the back of his neck. She peered into the muscles under the skin, the vertebrae of his spine and the things his nerves could tell her. She breathed a sigh of relief, even after such a fall he hadn't broken any ribs, hadn't cracked anything. There was some bruising that went deep, but it resulted with no internal bleeding, she was sure. He'd have one hell of a headache, and he was going to be sore for days, but she could do what was possible to help him not feel those pains now.

His heart was racing and he knew she would feel it, oh well, couldn't be helped. This energy she was pouring into him was amazing, and fascinating, so full of body, of life and also so warm, almost settling. Yet, at the same time, it caused a part of him to shrink back in hesitation. Just what could she do to him like this? To what extent could she manage to sabotage an opponent's body should she wish to? The power of her control went far beyond what she demonstrated at the surface, he began to realize. The energy pulses, the climbing trees with no hands, the walking on water…what others struggled to master she handled as parlor tricks. _This_ was a power of manipulation, of subversion and vandalism of a foreign body, capable of destruction with such a subtly he'd never been able to grasp. But only if she desired it to be.

In a battle such as this, it was good she was on his side.

As captivating as her abilities could be, however, there was a sensation growing within him that he couldn't place. A winding ball of tension, of seemingly raw energy that twisted almost violently in his gut.

"Sakura," he began, unsure of how to put this feeling into words. Did she know? Was this from her?

"I know," she breathed, her eyes slipping closed in concentration. A bead of sweat descended from her temple, it curved over her chin and she moved to wipe it on her shoulder. "I said don't fight it, just go with it."

"Go with what?" he pressed, unsure of what it was that she was doing, wanting to understand this building sensation. She was beginning to worry him, had he ever seen her struggle this much with her chakra? No, not even when she healed her own ankle and a cut tendon. He wasn't nearly as broken as she had been, just what was she doing?

Sakura struggled to concentrate, she hadn't expected to use this so soon, she hadn't nearly mastered it yet, and without proper experience, she could very well overdo herself without intending to. But what was she to do? He was so tired, so drained after his journey thus far and the battle he'd fought. Even if she numbed his pain he hadn't the strength to continue on to fight. So she poured her own into him, encouraging his chakra to merge with hers, to accept it and utilize it. Even so, it was a long shot, she knew, but even if she could give him an edge to catch the enemy off guard, give him some strength they wouldn't expect, she'd give all she had to, gladly.

It didn't take much time for her to fall into a rhythm, synchronized pulses that flowed easily from her hands. She sighed, seeming to settle at his side, perhaps her exhaustion was getting the better of her.

"Where was your backup?" she asked, her voice was truly quiet this time, if she hadn't been so close he might have missed it.

"They are in their own battles," he replied, not favoring the way her eyes had lowered with…was it disappointment?

She shook her head. "That's not what I mean, where was _your_ backup? Where was theirs?"

He paused, his eyes drifting from her face in thought. It had been quite obvious to him, perhaps not to his siblings, but he and Baki knew exactly why he had been sent with them alone. What was the half-assed explanation they had been given? "There was no one else," he answered. Her eyes were quick on him after that answer, blatant disbelief sparking in them as if to challenge him. Gaara simply shrugged, wanting to brush it aside. "Why do you think we're starting new recruit programs?" he questioned, hoping his drop in tone would shy her from the subject.

He should have known better.

She did pause, but it was a pause of contemplation, not one of submission. "They're doing it again…aren't they?"

Why had those words been such a shock? That cold rush through his blood seemed so out of place in response to things he'd always known, always expected. Was it her voice, so full of…could it have been sorrow? Fear? For him? He couldn't manage to say anything as she waited for his answer. To agree would only cause more of that hardship, but to deny would mean to deceive her. Would he do that? _Could_ he?

She scoffed, looking back to her work as her worry turned to barely suppressed lividity. "Of course," she seemed to spit to the dirt. "What did I expect?"

"Sakura," he began, unsure of what it was he intended to say.

"I can't believe the nerve of them," she muttered, the hard consonants of her words hissing from between her lips. "No information of the enemy, no backup, not even for the other two. Not even for the sake of Matsuri."

Gaara nearly choked at her name. _Shit_. Hadn't he just been thinking he'd wasted too much time with this man, wasting precious moments on a battle he'd quickly lost patience for. But then she had come, she'd called out to him and it was as though all thought left his mind. He'd been so distracted by Sakura since she burst from the trees, how long had it been since he'd seen those emerald eyes, since he'd heard her voice scolding him with worry. Like a drug, he'd let it intoxicate and sedate him into a wondrous distraction. He would pay for this, he was sure. Gaara tried to stand, suddenly pushing against her as the sand crumbled from over him. It seemed lighter now, or maybe he felt stronger, he couldn't tell for sure.

"Gaara, wait," Sakura urged, rising from the ground with him and steadying him as he had for her so many times before. "I'm not done yet," she insisted. She was tired, it was impossible to ignore the effects of draining so much of her reserves to restore his strength, but she could do more, she could go further if he needed her to.

"Done with _what_?" he asked again, a little more exasperated at this point. He could feel every second tick by and every moment that he wasn't in action was a moment wasted to him.

"I can help," she said, holding steady to her convictions. He needed more strength, he needed more…

Gaara clenched his hands, the sound of popping following quickly after. "You've done enough," he said, finally feeling the control return to his abilities. The sand around him shook, quaking as it shed the remaining water, and it receded from his body. He felt considerably lighter, more vigorous than before…had _this_ been her doing? He hadn't been broken in body, but his strength had indeed left him before she had arrived, could this be why she had been so concentrated, so dedicated to her task?

"No," she urged, stepping around to better confront him as he tried to turn from her, turn to the trees that promised another hard battle on the other side. Sakura stood in his way, the sounds of the battle beside them hardly registered to her now. She trusted her team, she could put all her focus on Gaara, just as she had intended. "Let me work," she repeated, trying her best to sound authoritative and as if she had some sort of control over the man.

Gaara thought of protesting, of just grabbing hold of her and forcing her out of his way. He didn't have time to fight her like this. "I have to go," he said, sounding surer in himself than she had been.

"Wait," she said again, the sound of desperation replacing that strength behind her voice, like a certain sorrow had taken the edge from her words. "I just got here, don't go."

Gaara nearly groaned, how could she think that was fair? To act as though she was begging him, completely reliant on what he could do to satisfy that urgency within her. It was hopeless to think he could tell her no, he knew if it were up to him he never would, but what more could he say other than, "Matsuri is in trouble."

Sakura felt her heart skip in her chest, of course…she knew that. But so was he…how could he expect her to just let him go in the condition that he was in? "I know," she insisted. "But-"

Gaara placed his hands on her shoulders, his grip firmer than she would have preferred. "Listen to me, Sakura, I have to-"

She had heard enough. She wasn't going to reduce herself to begging him to stay for his own good. Sakura swatting his hands off, bringing up her own to reach out to him. She was quick, and his hesitation at her actions only helped her swiftness. Reaching out, her fingers touched his skin, slipping back over his neck and threading themselves in his hair to keep herself close.

"Sakura," Gaara said, caught off guard by her sudden confrontation, and raised a hand to pry hers off of him. A shiver ran through his spine as he touched her, something positively vibrating with energy and life and it stirred something in response.

Despite her best efforts, there was a moment where she almost pulled back, a silent curse ringing in her head at this unexpected and momentary lapse of professionalism. There was no way she had expected the feeling of his skin – warm and smoother than she'd thought it would be – and the texture of his hair – a bit gritty at his scalp yet, but with a thickness that felt lovely in her fingers – to evoke such a reaction from her. She looked down, hoping to concentrate as well as hide her face and the mounting heat she could feel burning her cheeks. Her heart raced in her chest, each beat sending warmth through her blood, and she could only hope that her hands wouldn't shiver too much at his neck.

No matter her flustered thoughts, she had managed to stall him and she did her best to make it count. "Just go with it," she muttered quietly, encouraging him to just listen, if nothing else, then just to give her time. "Please, just stay for a little longer."

Oh, there it was again. That feeling of being flooded with life and with vibrant and foreign energy. So this was what she had been up to, Gaara concluded as he observed the look of fatigue on her features…at least, he thought that's what it was. Surrendering her own lifeline to him as she was, giving him whatever she could to see him go on, to see him continue this fight to its true end. She looked flustered, perhaps pushing herself too far, and he could see that she was draining herself as she wavered on her feet. Swaying just a bit, Sakura groaned in response to the faltering of that steady flow of chakra, her own body was fighting her now, not wanting to give any more of those precious reserves. Gaara was quick to hold her steady.

"Sakura," he said, quieter this time. "Enough of this." He reached for one of her hands, to pry it from his skin and end her self-inflicted exhaustion. He was tempted not to, of course, what with the way her hands felt so warm against his neck, not just the power gathered there but just the feel of her, the heat that lived on her skin, the softness of it all…why must she always be so fleeting?

"No," she said, her voice airy as she breathed heavy to keep herself steady in that trancelike state of concentration. "I can keep going, I can do more."

Gaara nodded, taking her hands from his neck, from where they poured life and power into his spine and throughout his body. "I know," he said, his sincerity meeting that look of confusion in her eyes as she looked back up to him. "Save it for the rest of them."

It was strange, she seemed to look at him differently and her hands went tense in his. Unlike many times before, Sakura had taken his initiative and had chosen to take a step away from him, to swiftly take back her hands and end their contact. Her eyes found the battle at their side, to Naruto and Lee fighting bravely and successfully against Suiko, but Gaara thought they looked distracted. He wondered for a moment, had he said something to offend her? To upset her?

"Sakura," Gaara said, the sound of her name on his voice gaining an instant reaction from her as her eyes snapped back to him. He found that same difference in them, but what exactly had changed? "I have to go," he said, his words only meant for her alone and not the other two that shared his battleground. "Those two can finish up with this, but," he explained quickly, looking off to the direction the enemy leader had disappeared with his student, to where he assumed it possible he had taken her.

"Wait," Sakura said again, the words tumbling off her lips and coming as a surprise to her, or so it looked. _Wait_ , she thought, wait for what? What more could she do for him, what more could she give him and still do her duties for the others as well? "Gaara, just –" Just…what?

"Stay here," he insisted.

She grabbed his sleeve as he tried to pass her, the action subconscious and her grip tighter than she'd expected. "Just wait!" she exclaimed. "Temari or Kankuro will be here soon, just wait for them, for _one_ of them!"

Gaara resisted to urge to groan at this behavior of hers. "Sakura," he pressed, his voice demanding and insistent as he tried to make it around her again. "I can't –"

She didn't back down, taking a step back every step her took forward, blocking his path to a fight he would surely suffer through on his own. Her heart raced painfully in her chest, panic began to take hold. "Please," she begged. "Please, just don't go alone."

Gaara paused, he couldn't help it, those eyes of hers; so filled with emotion, he could spend hours searching those depths and never see all there was to see of her. The sand beneath them moved, slowly piling up against her sandals as all of her attention rested on him. "I'm sorry," he said, taking a step back and moving around her. "There's no time."

He stepped passed her, keeping just out of reach as she tried to grab for him again. A sharp gasp of surprise left her lips as she was held fast in place, almost stumbling over as her feet failed to follow her. She looked down to her feet, to where the sand had hardened and kept them locked in place. "What?" she breathed, stunned at the sudden confinement. She looked back to Gaara, but he was already going, signaling quickly to Naruto that he was continuing with the mission, and then he was off. Without so much as a glance back to her he was running into the trees, his mind only on his enemy, only on his student who needed him.

Sakura sucked in a breath, a sudden surge of worry chilling her blood as gained distance that she couldn't close, and she cried after him. "Gaara!" she yelled. He didn't turn to look at her, didn't seem to listen. "Gaara wait! Please!"

"It'll be okay, Sakura," Naruto called out to her in response as Gaara vanished from the battlefield. "He looked confident."

Sakura said nothing back to him, her eyes fixed on that empty space left by Gaara by the trees. Had he seemed confident? Had she done enough for him? Was _she_ confident in his abilities to handle this ominous and ambiguous threat on his own?

No, she wasn't.

The sand began to loosen as he got further from her, and soon it slid from her sandals and her feet, yet she found herself unable to move. She knew she couldn't recklessly chase after him, she had other people to think of, to help in their time of need. She was needed here, and gods – with her heart still heavy yet her blood feeling weightless, with her hands still warm from his skin, with the texture of his hair so fresh in her mind – how she wished he had stayed here with her.

Her fingers found her lips in hopes of ceasing their subtle trembling, the echoes of that nervousness finally leaving her nerves. Just what had _that_ been? "Gaara?"

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	5. Installment 3(2)

Hello, everyone! I'm alive!

It has been a few months since I've managed to find time to dedicate to this fanfiction, and I've missed it and my online community dearly. Certain events in my personal life have gotten in the way of finding ample time for my fan works recently and, for those still following along with our little tale; I thank you and I appreciate you. The kind words of this site and its community have encouraged me a lot and my time away from the site has not been in vain.

I have spent the past few months revising a novel that I've written and, with it ready for agents and editors alike, I am proud to say that I am starting my journey to become a published author. It has been a long road, one filled with the innumerable tedious hours that often come with crafting a book, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it. It comforts me, engulfs me, and with any luck, it'll be something tangible to hold with pride. As my endeavor progresses, I will continue to update everyone during my chapters if I can manage, and I do hope that you'll all be wishing me and all of our other closet authors on this site the best of luck!

Now, on to the long-awaited chapter. Because I've felt distant from this site and this story for so long, I thought it would be nice to do the remainder of the installment in smaller, more manageable pieces. Part three of installment 3 will be up soon, I'm going to aim for the end of this month/ early February for a completed installment, and I swear I won't disappoint! Until then, enjoy some quick goodness from part two.

Follow the Sun, Excerpts in Time

Installment 3 (2)

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

"Temari!" Shikamaru shouted after her, a fruitless effort indeed. She was in the trees, moving faster than he thought her fatigue would allow in her desperation to see her brother. She assumed any hope of radio contact was thwarted by the initial blast of water that had taken Gaara down and the lack of response from him only confirmed her fears. She needed to see him, now, nothing else could quell that worry pulling sharply at her features. "It's all right," he tried. "Naruto and Lee have got to be there by now, don't be so hasty."

She didn't slow pace, but she did turn with a look that suggested she expected him to keep up. "I'll believe it when I see it." Shikamaru could tell there was meant to be a rough edge to her voice, to bury that shaking under a low tone of authority. He didn't buy it but kept it to himself.

"It shouldn't be much farther, just up ahead I think," Shikamaru said, a hand reaching for the radio at his neck. It clicked to life. "Naruto? Lee? Have you intercepted Gaara?"

There was a moment of quiet as he and Temari flew through the trees, her eyes fixed ahead of her but her attention was hanging off that crackled response that came through the receiver.

It was Lee. "Affirmative," he spoke sharply, a shallow grunt to his voice and the muffled sound of metal on metal confirmed they were in the heat of battle. "He was treated shortly by Sakura before he left to pursue his student."

Naruto spoke through the radio this time, his voice unmistakable. "Don't worry, Shikamaru. Lee and I will follow after we finish-" He was cut off as he dodged a blow from the enemy and Lee could faintly be heard in the background telling him to pay attention. He came back clearly over the radio to say, "This won't take long, we'll meet up with you soon."

"Got it, be careful, Naruto."

Temari reached for her radio, intent on contacting Kankuro whom she hadn't heard from for quite some time, but a voice called to them before she could.

"Hey! Temari!"

The both of them stopped dead in their tracks to see Kiba and Kankuro waving up at them from the dirt path below, both looking tired and battle worn. They descended from the trees.

"Did you see it?" Temari demanded of her brother. "Gaara's been taken down." Her eyes were hard, impatient.

Kankuro shook his head, eyes going wide upon seeing his sister's distress. "What?" He followed quickly after her as Temari turned and continued hastily down the trail between the trees. "Temari, what happened?"

"Some sort of water attack," Shikamaru explained. "Haven't heard from him since. We should meet up with Naruto and Lee," he suggested firmly, directing his voice toward the woman gaining distance in front of the group. "We're better off as a group to go after him."

Temari didn't turn, didn't slow, and only scowled at the empty path before her. "Fine."

It didn't matter how, they just had to hurry.

 **…**

Stupid…

There was nothing but darkness to be seen, nothing but the pitch black of an empty void to meet his eyes, and certainly nothing beyond it.

Gaara held his hand before his face, trying to make out its dim silhouette against the background, but he didn't need to see it. He could _feel_ it. His sand and his armor, it moved on its own, fighting against his will as he felt it twist and contort around his skin. It was changing, _he_ was changing. The demon within had been stirred, its cage poked and prodded, and try as he might to stave off the inevitable; his limit was quickly coming within reach.

 _Gaara, wait…please just wait._

He cursed himself in the darkness, knowing now that he should have listened.

 _I just got here…_

She'd sounded so distraught with that edge of desperation to the tone of her voice. Why on earth had he left?

He tried to settle himself, tried to stifle the surging power threatening to break his control, what little he had managed to retain. His sand fought him desperately, struggling between obeying him and obeying something far more ancient and archaic, something Gaara could hardly fight once succumbed…to have thought he could do it on his own…

 _Stupid._

Gaara took a breath, shaken and pained against the flashes of heat that came with waves of power, and the conflicting chill that ached his bones as he fought them back down. That monster in his thoughts was ruthless, relentless, and hadn't been this hard to fight since his chunin days in Konoha. But for all of his suffering, however, there remained something that didn't fight him or struggle against his will and he was able to grab hold and focus on that control he retained.

It was her; that last little bit of chakra she had seeped into him before he'd forced her to let him go, and this power of hers held no loyalty to that beast within him. It could not be turned against him, it seemed, and instead, it gave him the resiliency to fight back the emerging power of the Shukaku.

Focusing all he could, he held onto that vibration of life within him, that pulse of warmth, and stifled the struggling beast. Beaten back into submission, though not for long, the Shukaku relented control to its host, allowing Gaara a moment of relief from the internal battle. Sweat dripped down his brow, his skull throbbing with a deep, pulsing ache, and he pressed his hands roughly against his temples to try and relieve the pain.

 _It's futile…_

Gaara turned his mind's eye from the voice, it felt like claws inside his brain and instead conjured thoughts to distract him from the beast. Thoughts like his comrades fighting diligently in his aid, thoughts of Matsuri; just a student at the hands of a madman, thoughts –

 _She can't save you…_

Of Sakura.

He drowned out the voice, remembering how she had grabbed hold of him, those eyes so hard and so determined. She had been strong for him, for everyone, he could be strong for them as well. She'd given him her own power, after all, surrendering her limits to him and trusting him to use them wisely. Yet here he was, desperate for this waning extension of her to stave back the demon. It wouldn't last forever, and the Shukaku waited for the control to slip, for him to be left alone and defenseless to the creature's whims.

 _No one can._

"Shut up!" Gaara cursed to the empty darkness around him, frustration bubbling up within him as the beast taunted him.

It wasn't true, it just couldn't be, he'd worked too hard and fought too hard for him to believe it. There was always someone, that's what he'd learned, there was always a place to turn and she was here. _Here_ , just miles away perhaps, and closing in if he didn't know better. If he could just wait until then, if he could only hold out until she, or Naruto, or his family could get to him, maybe he could make it.

Perhaps he could do it, perhaps what little of her remained was enough.

 **…**

It had been too long, Naruto was sure, and he needed to get to Gaara. He'd been trapped within a metal dome and Naruto could feel the manipulation of power that churned under it. He had tried his best to make it through the shield, but his knives did no good and his new opponent only thwarted his efforts. He cursed, jumping back from the dome to dodge a quick attack. Naruto was tired, he'd already beaten one of their group with Lee, and now this man had taken that armor and amplified it. It didn't really seem fair, not in his opinion.

But Matsuri was safe, she'd been freed and found cover quickly after, leaving the fighting to Naruto. That was what mattered.

"Naruto!"

He turned, the sound of his name on the wind drawing his eyes from his opponent. It was Sakura, she was quickly advancing with the others. Naruto leaped from the battlefield, leaving the done as well as his enemy, and joined them at a safer distance away. Matsuri was quick to follow him to the safety of the group, her rope javelin clutched against her.

"Sakura," Naruto huffed in greeting. "Good to see you're all right."

Sakura nodded, her eyes moving past him to the girl standing to the side, and then past her to the metal dome glinting in the sunlight beyond. She thinned her lips and took a deep breath.

"Matsuri?" she questioned, earning a sharp nod from the girl. "I'm Sakura, I train as a medical ninja, have you been hurt?" she asked, stepping toward the younger girl and assessing her appearance.

"No," she responded, her voice a little higher than Sakura had been expecting. "I'm all right."

"Where's Gaara?" Temari demanded, her sudden advance to the front of the group took clear charge of the situation. Her eyes were hard on Matsuri, on Naruto as well.

Sakura looked again to the dome in the distance, a chilling weight settling in her gut as she touched a hand to her friend's arm. Temari turned to her only to follow her gaze to the small valley in the distance.

She sucked in a breath through her nose, her lips settled into a tight line. Temari studied the man floating above the dome, the eerie calm to his features as he simply waited.

"He's in there," Naruto confirmed. "I've tried once or twice to get at him, but I can't break through the metal."

"I can," Sakura said, the words slipping from her lips without thought or hesitation. The gathered group turned to her. She met the gaze of Naruto, of Temari and of Shikamaru. "If you cover me, I can get in there. I guarantee it."

Temari looked to Shikamaru, a certain hope in her eyes that begged for action first and thought second. "What's that dome all about?" Shikamaru asked, not at all in favor of sending anyone any further without a plan.

Naruto shrugged, looking back at it in skepticism. "It's got a power of some kind, it felt strange, like something was going on underneath it all. That guy, he called himself Seimei, he said he wants Gaara's ultimate weapon. I tried to call out for him, but I didn't get a response."

It was Kankuro who spoke now, his voice clearly directed towards his sister. "Temari…" he began. She wouldn't look at him. "It might be-"

"How long has he been in there?" she demanded, her eyes settled sternly on Naruto and Matsuri once again.

"Not long," Matsuri answered, a waver to her voice when in the shadow of a mentor's warpath. "But…he was different."

"He was weak," Sakura said, knowing full well that he wouldn't be at his ideal strength. This seemed to surprise Matsuri as if the word didn't fit him, and Sakura could agree. Had people in the desert ever seen him weak before? Had they seen him drained from battle and still pressed to go on? They had seen him as a monster, but now…did they know how it looked when he's reached his limit? "He needed help."

Matsuri looked down and, confronted with her own inaction, she felt abashed and ashamed, though Sakura instantly regretted her words.

She was simply young, inexperienced, what could she do that would help him? She hadn't learned how to help him yet, he hadn't even the chance to teach her. Matsuri backed away from her a step, the rope of her javelin twisted between her nervous fingers, but there was no time for apologies.

"Then let's get to it," Temari said, her attention on Sakura and Sakura alone. The others seemed hesitant, more inclined to order and reason, but she didn't share their concerns, not now, not when her brother needed her.

Sakura seemed ready to agree, she'd even stepped out toward the dome before Shikamaru tried his hand at cooling their ambitions.

"Easy," he said. "You don't know anything about this guy."

"Well those sure look familiar," Kankuro spoke up, his eyes locked on the three snake-like swords perched behind the man in the distance.

"As does his chest plate," Lee added. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"He's using their weapons," Shikamaru concluded. "He's managed to elevate their power somehow, they've changed. Sakura," he said, turning to her as she remained fixated on the dome in the distance. "Can you sense him? What's his power like?"

Sakura didn't turn to him, only responding with a gesture to keep quiet.

Something was wrong.

There was power seeping from that dome now, a weighted pulse that thrummed in the distance, and instead of washing outward like rippled over water, it was drawn upward. With a force so great she nearly felt pulled along with it, that familiar energy that always thickened the air was pulled up from the dome and toward the man floating above. The dome was draining him, fast, and Seimei only grew stronger the longer they pondered.

"There's no time," she said, her chakra already beginning to pool within the muscles of her arms. She turned to Temari. "Knock him down a peg."

And she was off.

Sakura bolted from the group, the sound of Temari drawing her fan the only thing that dulled the calls of Naruto and Shikamaru, and she charged the dome. The following gust of wind that chased after her nearly knocked her down but she channeled the momentum to propel her forward. It surged past her, blowing with wild and untamed intensity to the enclosing valley, and there was definitely power behind it.

She could feel the others follow after her, but even with the wind to throw him – even if only a little – Seimei seemed unfazed and uninterested in her approach. Sakura gained on the dome quickly, her teammates still a few quick paces behind her, and called out to them without breaking stride.

"Cover me!" she called, gathering strength into her arm and preparing a swing for the metal.

A blue flash nearly caught her side but Kankuro's puppet, however mangled it was, remained faster and she was spared a slice from the unforgiving blade. Naruto was in the air at a moment's notice, ready to take their enemy head-on with Lee at his side, while Temari and Shikamaru played the long distance defensive, ready to push him back at any second.

Sakura ducked from another swing of the blades, her muscles twitching and vibrating with the need for release, such power and tension never held well for more than a few moments. Her hands found the dome, the metal was warmer than she imagined it would be, the power that churned within was unexpectedly hot now that she was so close. It was strange, unfamiliar, and it wasn't the energy she had come to place as his own.

It was darker, heavy in the way that it permeated the air, and she felt it deeper than she had normally felt his power before. She tried to settle the erratic beating of her heart, instinct and self-conservation told her to turn back and to run from this thing, from what lay beneath it, but she wasn't so keen to listen.

Gathering what strength she thought necessary, Sakura's right fist made potent contact with the metal shell of the dome. The solid impact gave way as the metal caved under her punch, but she didn't stop there. Once she'd broken through, she grabbed onto the crumpled metal, heaving it back and effectively peeling it out and away.

That heat raced out toward her, a rush of power that almost had her knocked back and gasping for breath. It lingered on her skin, like the heat of a sunburn, and permeated through her muscles, almost making her weak. Almost.

But she wasn't, she had the strength yet to fight, strength to give, and she was determined. Like waves of heat with an overbearing thickness in her lungs, the power rolled from the hole in the dome and Sakura fought past them. She needed to be quicker, she needed to get to him, Seimei would be on her at any moment but Gaara needed her and she couldn't fail.

She wouldn't.

"Gaara?" she called out. No answer.

The opening was small and jagged, but she was slender and impatient, and without word to the others, Sakura slipped within the darkness of the dome.

"Gaara?" she called again, her eyes straining in the dim light filtering into the darkness.

He was to the other side of the dome, she could hear him, hear the raggedness of his breathing. He sounded pained.

Her steps toward him were quick and purposeful, her hands reaching out for him in the darkness. "Gaara, it's me."

"Stop," he said suddenly, his voice a rough grunt that had her halting on command. He had a hand outstretched, she could see better now, as if to keep her at bay.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, her voice shaken a bit. He sounded hurt, he sounded angry as well. "Gaara what happened?" She took a step closer, feeling compelled to move.

"It's not safe," Gaara urged her, his voice strained and uncertain. He could feel the beast rear its ugly head at her sudden appearance, he'd been tempted long enough and it wanted blood to play with. Gaara felt he was mere moments from losing his fight and the fear of her being so close did nothing to help his confidence.

"Let me help," she insisted, seeing his distress. "I can help."

He cursed aloud, Sakura couldn't be bothered to listen, and when she reached for him he hadn't the strength – or the will – to push her away. His mind throbbed in pain, his thoughts churned with the harshest of words, and his body ached with a weakness that beckoned him to sweet surrender.

She stood before him, her hands brushed against his neck as her fingers found his hair once again. That same addictive warmth flooded through him and he nearly groaned at the way it quelled the ache in his head. Sakura could feel how the armor had twisted gathered strangely by his right ear and jawline, but as she gave him the strength to fight against it, it retreated back to its rightful place once again.

Gaara wavered a moment, held steady only by Sakura as he leaned against her. This relief had nearly done him in. Never before had he been pulled from the grasp of the beast so tenderly, and never had someone fought against his monster and not him.

He sighed, allowing himself just a moment to remain there, leaning against her and basking in that softness that had so easily won his battle. "You shouldn't have come," he muttered, the sounds of battle beyond the dome finally reaching his ears. "Any later and-"

"I can manage," she said simply, keeping her voice low and quiet, afraid it would waver and betray her again.

Her heart fluttered rapidly in her chest, she was sure her hands would only become clammy as well, but she couldn't help it. He'd leaned himself against her – of course, he was exhausted and weak – but the hand he'd rested at her waist nearly had her distracted from her work.

"You're shaking," he noted, his head hung so close to hers.

"It's nothing," she said, trying brush off the heat in her veins along with the fatigue of her body. The words sounded foolish in the air, however, of course he could tell that she was tired, that she was draining fast and that even her touch trembled. "Everyone else is fine," she explained, the sounds of battle confirming their fighting strength.

Gaara nodded. He'd hardly heard her words and was simply captivated by the heat and vigor she pumped through him, by her hands at his neck and her fingers through his hair, even the hand at her waist was tempted to grip her just a little tighter, to feel just a little more.

"This has to stop," she spoke suddenly.

It seemed to snap him into clarity and he quickly retracted his hand as if the feel of her suddenly burned. He was about to curse himself; stupid, distracted, and ambitious as he was, before Sakura spoke again.

"They can't keep going as they are, we need to end this."

Of course, the others were fighting to their limits just as he had done, but now he had been given new life to go on, to fight back his beast and prevail over this battle. "Right," he agreed, the sand beneath them churning on command, now more decisive of who it chose to obey, and Gaara ushered Sakura close. "Stay close for now," he said, the order in his voice earning her obedience as she moved to his side and allowed an arm around her waist. "I'll get us out of here and make us some cover."

"What's your plan?" Sakura asked, turning to him in the dimness of the dome. There was uncertainty in her eyes, worry that he could see even in the dark.

"It'll take a moment for the dust to clear, get everyone out of the valley and stay clear. I'll finish this."

"Gaara," she said, the silent words that followed spoke her skepticism clearly.

"I won't take long," he assured her. "I promise."

Sakura nodded, trusting the look in his eyes and the sternness to his features. "Just be careful," she urged. "I don't have much more in me."

Gaara nodded, knowing full well from the sweat on her brow and the weight she leaned on him that they were both – they were _all_ – in need of an end to the exhaustion. Gaara held her close, the sand churning at the will of its master, and with a force he was sure their enemy wouldn't expect; it surged outward from around him. Blasting against the inside of the dome, it tore away at the metal, using Sakura's puncture point to rip apart the dome and thrust the metal scraps outward.

Indeed, there was an end in sight, and Gaara would see to that end

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


	6. Installment 3 (3)

Happy Valentine's Day!

It goes without saying that I love each and every one of my followers, my commenters, my subscribers, and my lurkers. I apologize for the delays in finishing this installment, but the weather here in Wisconsin has been rearing its ugly head and my days have been filled with shoveling, digging out cars, and going hard at work to survive the winter storms. To anyone surviving the winter wasteland with me, drive safely, be warm, and keep spare essentials in your cars.

On a separate note, I've been busy trying to make headway with the book I have written and have an exciting day waiting for me in early March. I will be attending a writers workshop and have slotted times to meet with agents about my selling points, as well as a critique of 10 pages of my book. It will be an adventure for sure, and though I am extremely nervous, I am also very, very excited to start my dream career. If anyone is interested in becoming a published author, I highly suggest going to a workshop, they can cost some pretty pennies, but your future, your DREAM is worth every cent. I will let you all know how it goes as I update my chapters to this fanfic, and as always - Enjoy!

Follow the Sun, Excerpts of Time

Installment 3; Part 3:

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Seimei hadn't expected the blast that came from within the dome, the surge of power that overthrew the strength of the metal had him shielding his eyes from the billowing cloud of sand and dust. It spewed into the air, shrouding the battlefield from his sight, and he cursed.

No, this wasn't how it was meant to go. Retaliation was unacceptable. How long had he waited for this moment? For the breath of fresh air in his lungs, the course of his blood through his veins? For the downfall of all who had doubted him, stolen from him, and mangled his people's art form? Too long, too many years spent entombed within the rocks for it to be over so soon. With eyes blind to what was below him, he sprung forth his swords, flexible and deadly in their intent, and attempted to slice through whatever lay in wait below the dust.

His blade made hard contact with something beneath him, something that stopped his attack dead in its tracks and refused to give back his weapon. For a moment, though only just, the dust had thinned and through it, he spied his prey.

Gaara stood free of his cage, appearing much stronger than Seimei would have preferred, and his sand gripped the blade of his sword. Beside Gaara, tucked under the safety of his sand, was the girl he had paid no mind. It had been years since Seimei had felt his blood boil, but boil it did.

She was just a little thing, young and unassuming, he hadn't expected such strength from her and knew now that he should have been more diligent in taking her out. His eyes narrowed as she slipped from Gaara's side, her frame silhouetted against the cover of falling dust, and within moments she was gone. It was clear soon after that she had joined the others, they too falling back in response to the dangerously low visibility. She'd call for their retreat, but Seimei knew the tides were not in his favor.

"Get back!" Sakura called out to the team. "Clear the gorge!"

"Where is he?" Temari called back, meeting her within moments of her voice cutting through the dust. "What happened?"

Seimei knew what happened, he could feel it; the way that the power he'd stolen had been stopped, how the strength had returned to Gaara's features, though only just. What had she done? How had she thwarted his efforts so suddenly on her own? He demanded answers but resided to acquire them after he dealt with the matter at hand.

Gaara stared him down, his eyes were hard and cold, focusing on him with a deadly kind of intent.

"So you're still standing, I see," he spoke down to his opponent, a scowl forming on his lips as he and Gaara locked eyes. This man, this mere _boy_ , was not afraid of him.

"Of course," Gaara answered. "Victory over myself takes more than that."

"Oh?" Seimei taunted. "And what about _your_ victory? You've no sand left to use, and you alone are no match for me."

True, Gaara thought to himself. On his own he hadn't the skill to defeat this man and, though he was trained in hand to hand combat, his expertise lied in the manipulation of his sand.

"I am Gaara of the Desert, in case you've forgotten," he replied in kind, his voice just as mocking and taunting. "Wherever there is rock, wherever there is earth, I can _make_ more."

There was still power left in him, still energy to spare, and he wasted no time in sending his will through the sand beneath his feet, commanding the erosion of the canyon walls that surrounded them. For a moment, one of great tension for the group gathered at a relatively safe distance from the epicenter of the battle, all was silent in the canyon.

Seimei smirked, feeling confident that he had drained all that he needed of the Shukaku's energy to win this fight, and opened his mouth to speak. A loud crack filled the air before his own voice could and Seimei looked beyond Gaara to see the walls of the canyon had splintered. Jagged fragments fell from the cliff face, plunging into the sandy valley below and disintegrating into the ground. He cursed, seeing now that all around them the stone was succumbing to the fissures created by Gaara's will.

As rocks and boulders rained from the canyon, the floor began to rise, filling with sand and overflowing the boundaries of canyon walls. Seimei attempted to keep his distance, but the overwhelming volume of sand had swarmed him. It enclosed him, suffocating in its strength, and pulled him down to the floor of the gorge, drowning him in the sea of writhing grains. Try as he might, physical strength was unable to fight against it, and before he could be crushed by the sheer weight of the sand pilling on top of him, he summoned his strength for an escape.

Above ground, a vortex of wind surged from the sand, thrusting it up and out as Seimei rose from its depths. His face was hard set and determined, his eyes keenly fixed on Gaara, and his intent clearly deadly.

"So," he seared, his voice low with malice. "You've still got chakra to spare. No matter, simply more for me to take." Indeed, his chest plate sprang to life, sucking up the energy that rolled from Gaara's shoulders once again.

Gaara appeared unfazed as if he had expected this from him, and his lack of response only angered Seimei more.

It was a common rule among shinobi, to never let your enemy see your weaknesses, and though Gaara was exhausted, hardly able to stand, and quickly approaching his limit, he wasn't about to show it. He raised a hand to the air, summoning the sand around him to gather in his hands and, within moments, he'd comprised a weapon worthy of his enemy.

The Shukaku Spear; an impressive weapon of hardened sand and packed chakra, second only to the Shukaku Shield. It wasn't often that Gaara had to resort to this attack, as it drained him of more energy than his usual methods, but he couldn't allow this man to live.

Before Seimei could deflect his attack, Gaara threw the spear toward him; a testament to the physical strength he did indeed possess. The spear flew diligently toward its mark, the force of the chest plate drawing in his chakra only honed its path to a deadly accuracy.

It seemed to Gaara that Seimei had truly expected little from him, it was the Shukaku he had targeted after all, not his vessel, but this lack of caution would be the beginning of his downfall. The spear made swift contact with the chest plate as it hovered protectively over Seimei's gut, and the impressive strength of the spear's tip made quick work of piercing through the protective metal, slicing into the tender flesh that hid beneath.

Seimei looked down to where the sand spear had punctured his body. Already the spear began to dissolve, the prongs of it receding from him and allowing his blood to flow forth from his wounds. It soaked down his torso, warm and wet against his robes, and as the sand let go of its form; falling back to the canyon floor below, Seimei followed.

He slumped on the canyon floor, shocked and in disbelief. "No," he muttered, eyes still locked on the blood soaking his legs. "It can't be…it wasn't meant-"

"They should have left you dead," Gaara spoke, kneeling down as his hands slipped into the sand beneath him. "It would have been easier for you."

Seimei looked up to him, the sand on which he knelt began to churn and spin; slowly swallowing him in a vortex he was sure he wouldn't escape.

 _No_ …he thought desperately, it couldn't be over, not now, not so soon. There was work yet to be done, there was-

He tried to stand but found himself immobile, the sand had gripped his arms, dragging him down, and before he finally slipped beneath the surface he glanced over to the party waiting hesitantly in the distance. There he saw her, standing in the safety of the group, her pastel hair that had once been an immediate dismissal was now a mockery of how wrong he had been. She should have been the target, _she_ should have been the first to fall. He would have tasted his victory then, would have reveled in the feel of her blood on his hands.

The sand swallowed him and, as the darkness took hold of him, the pressure bared down on him from all around, he cursed that girl. She had been Gaara's strength when he should have had none, she had fixed all that his followers had worked to destroy, and next time he would not make that mistake again.

Next time, she would be the first to die.

Gaara sent wave after wave of his chakra into the sand, willing it to crush Seimei as he had attempted before. He was weak enough now, losing blood at an alarming rate, and his injury would soon send him back his grave on its own. Still, Gaara sought to be sure.

The ground rumbled all around, the extent of his will might have seemed excessive, but Gaara was out for blood this time, and he would have it. He continued the barrage of twisting and pulverizing his opponent, feeling every break and every snap, every tear and every struggle through the sand until finally, all life had settled back into the sweet stillness of death.

It was done.

Seimei was dead.

Satisfied, Gaara tried to stand, tried to support himself, but even his own weight was too much for him now. His knees buckled beneath him, his body shaking from exhaustion, from fighting his demon, from draining all that he could to see this battle through to the end. He slumped to the ground, the voice of his sister crying out in the distance just barely reached his ears as his vision blurred. Within a moment all was silent, a lulling sort of darkness enveloped him, and his body simply gave out.

…

"You'll get back okay?" Shikamaru asked, eyeing the way that Temari stood, the weight of her fan a clear burden to her now.

Nevertheless, she nodded with certainty. "Of course," she answered, doing what she could to hide the fatigue not only from Shikamaru but from the rest of the group as well. She didn't care for the concerned looks her brothers would send her way, especially the ones from Matsuri. She was a strong one, she could handle herself better than most in the present party would assume, and wasn't about to take the pity of anyone. She was the oldest one, the elder of her family, and had sworn to hold herself as such. "Not a problem, you?" she asked back, folding her arms and throwing Shikamaru that same skeptical look he'd given her.

He shrugged, knowing well that her abilities far surpassed anything he'd yet seen, and being a little winded wouldn't bother her any. But still, his mind never stopped with the what-if's and the speculation, making him inclined to worry. "Shouldn't be a problem, we've got a shorter journey as it stands."

Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his pockets and was clearly trying to ignore the way that Kankuro patiently observed their exchange, Temari was attempting to do the same.

"Thank you," she spoke after a moment, her voice quieter and softer than before. Shikamaru looked up to her, his brow pulled together. "For today, it would have gone much differently without the help of the Leaf." Her eyes dropped to the ground, her lips thinned.

"Don't worry about it, we were happy to help in the success." She nodded but her eyes didn't meet his own, and he could see clouded thought within those blue depths of hers. "So," he began, shifting his weight and attempting to adopt a more casual tone with her. "Training, huh?"

She looked up to him then, a little confused at his choice of words. "Training," she repeated. "Yes."

Shikamaru shrugged, kicking some dirt with his foot. "I didn't think you'd leave the scouts…what with having your own team and all…"

"Leave?" she gawked. "No, I didn't _leave_. I can do more than one thing, you know?"

"Well," he spoke in response to the sudden edge to her voice. "I never said you couldn't, I just-"

"Don't go thinking I'm not capable of handling students _and_ a team!"

"Wha- I know you can! I just didn't know-"

"Oh _that's_ clear!" she snapped back, the crinkle in her nose and the pinch between her brows did little to stifle the heat spreading across her cheeks. "Are you so dismissive to _all_ the women back home?" she demanded.

"Temari, please, I'm not-"

Kankuro sighed, looking away from them as Shikamaru tried to salvage what he could from Temari's flustered string of demands. She was easy to rile when her abilities and competence was put into question, and if he'd only known he would have warned the poor man otherwise. She thought she hid it so well, and maybe with Shikamaru she did, but as her brother, Kankuro simply knew better. Yet, as her brother, this was a matter he was keen _not_ to get involved in. He turned his attention to Sakura then, though her situation fared just as well as Shikamaru's, it seemed.

"What were you thinking?" Gaara demanded, his arms crossed stubbornly over his chest and his eyes cemented on her face.

Sakura paused a moment, she'd been giving Matsuri a proper look over after her abduction, and looked up at him as if his tone of voice confused her. "What?"

Gaara rolled his eyes, clearly oblivious as Kankuro suggested to Naruto that they let them work it out themselves. "Do you have a death wish?" he asked.

Sakura turned from Matsuri to face him fully. "Why would you think I have a death wish?"

"Well, it sure as hell seems like it to me. Did no one tell you how dangerous your actions were? Need I reiterate that a few moments later and –"

"Oh _that's_ what you're on about?" she interrupted, the sudden tone to her voice surprising Matsuri who soon moved to stand beside Kankuro as they looked on to the little quarrel. "I was _thinking_ that you needed _help_."

Gaara wasn't at all settled by her answer. "So _that_ was your solution?" he demanded, making a gesture to the canyon, to where she'd so blindly rushed in after him.

"What other one was there?" she challenged him, squaring up to face him as he stared her down. "Wait for everyone else to agree on a decision? You were running out of time. Just let you manage on your own? It appeared very clear that you couldn't. What's the problem?"

" _What's the problem?_ " he repeated in disbelief. The problem was that she could have been killed, she had felt how his armor had begun twisting and shifting against his will, how the sand had begun bunching unnaturally around his shoulder, up his neck and to the side of his face. But she hadn't seen the claw it had made of his arm, hadn't seen the beast within him begin to take physical form. "Everything, Sakura."

"I'm fine," she pressed, her lips thinning as she glared up at him. What was this sudden lack of confidence in her, this doubt that he seemed determined not to shake?

"That wasn't a guarantee," Gaara countered back, knowing better than anyone how close she came to painting the walls of that damned cage red with her own blood.

" _So_? Neither is anything in our line of work." Her rebuttal came without a moment's hesitation and it only seemed to rile Gaara more.

He scowled at her, a look that – only just months ago – would have had many shying back in fear, but Sakura stood her ground. He stepped closer, intent on telling her how foolish it had been, how she could have just a easily been killed, or used against him, or taken just as Matsuri had been, but his words only died on his tongue. How could he tell her? She didn't know…she wouldn't have come if she knew, he was sure of it, so how could he tell her more clearly than his own actions could have?

"Nothing to say to that, huh?" she huffed, folding her arms together under her chest, that beautiful fire lighting up her eyes.

No, there was so much to say to it, but…could he find the words? Where there any?

"Remember what I said, Gaara," she pressed, the edge to her gaze had gone but her eyes remained hardened by worry. "You're not indestructible, no one is."

He paused, his eyes studying the tenacity of her features, the rawness to her eyes that consistently clouded his thoughts, the sound of her voice that always seemed to echo in him. Of course, he'd remembered, he'd tried to remember everything she'd said. "I know," he answered after a moment, unable to look at that worry on her face any longer. Frustration bubbled up in his gut, a realization of his own weakness that shamed him to admit. He had to become stronger, he needed to be more vigilant, more capable, for himself and for his people. Maybe then she wouldn't worry so much.

Sakura sighed, looking to the ground as well, and then eventually back to Shikamaru. He made a small gesture, just a tilt of the head toward their group, and she knew that her time here was up. "We should go," she said after a moment, her voice was quiet now, the embers of her own frustration cooling into a stagnant sense of wanting. Wanting to stay here, with Gaara, with Temari, with the people she missed so much. Wanting to go back with them, to feel the warmth of the desert sun and the hot sand between her toes. Wanting this moment – however frustrating – to last just a little longer.

"So should we," Gaara agreed. He turned from her and joined his siblings and his student, a feeling of emptiness at his side, a longing in his nerves.

Sakura felt her heart sink, an unexpected feeling that had her desperate to reach out for something, anything, and her feet moved in response. She walked up to Temari, throwing her arms around her in a tight and much needed hug. Temari returned her embrace, pulling her friend tightly against her in a rare moment of affection.

"Get home safe," Temari said as they parted. "Don't forget to write."

"I won't," Sakura assured. "Promise." She turned her eyes to Matsuri then, to the funny look that she wore across her face. Though only a few years younger than herself, she seemed so much younger, so nervous and uncertain of her place in this gathered group. She had so much potential, so much determination. If she could survive this, definitely a first day for the books if Sakura had ever seen one, then she would be a fine soldier for her people. "Be safe, Matsuri, and be diligent."

She nodded in response, her voice caught in her throat, her mind reeling. Just who was this woman? She had gone after Gaara without hesitation, produces a strength that had her nearly doubling back in awe, and stood toe to toe with one of the most feared men of her country. She didn't fear him, not his glares, not the rising tone in his voice, not his anger, nothing. It was as if, at least to Matsuri, she had no reason to.

Sakura turned from her and walked back towards her team, waving a friendly goodbye to Kankuro, and they began their way back to their forested home. Gaara stalked off back into the trees, his siblings followed suit at a rather manageable pace in their fatigue, and Matsuri tried her best not to steal too many glances of her new teacher.

She was curious, incredibly so, and also certain that – even though it hadn't been plainly stated – there just _had_ to be more to him, more to _them_ , than anyone had thought before.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Gaara sighed to himself, for the umpteenth time that afternoon, and settled himself in for a long day of training with Matsuri. It was a hot afternoon and he had slid into the shade of the buildings to observe her. Albeit very slow, she was indeed improving. It seemed to take her a few days to get over him hovering and throwing advice and suggestions her way, but she appeared to be more comfortable with him now.

She yelped a little when her javelin swung around the target pole and back her way, something she clearly hadn't expected and she looked shyly back at him after nearly stumbling over her own feet. Obviously, her training would take a while longer than he would have hoped, but at least now he was confident that she wouldn't hurt herself with her own weapon. He pushed himself from the wall, moving to show her a better form, perhaps one that hadn't worked for him when he'd been trained, but might very well work for her.

"Gaara," called a voice to his side.

He looked over to see a man coming down the street towards them, a hand raised in greeting. In that hand was a folded envelope, the white paper brightly reflecting the light of the sun. "Hold on, Matsuri," he called to his student. She paused and watched as the man approached him.

"Some messages arrived at the tower not long ago, from the Leaf." The man handed him the envelope and Gaara took it, looking quickly over his name written on the paper. "Personally addressed to you and Temari, any idea where she is?"

Gaara shook his head. "She's left for patrol with her squad, her students are done for the day. I'll give it to her." The man nodded, digging out Temari's note from his pack, and handed it to Gaara. Nodding to him, he turned to leave them to their training.

Looking back at the note addressed to him, Gaara opened it, the script on the envelope so very familiar, and unfolded the paper within. It was a short note and wasn't at all signed, but he didn't need a signature to know who had sent it. In the middle of the page, in modest writing with such neat script, only three words were written there. A curious choice for a letter that journeyed so far to reach him.

Though Matsuri was sure he thought she wouldn't notice, as it happened so quickly before the letter was folded again and stuffed into his pocket, there had been a grin that pulled at his lips, a small but undeniable smile that she had never seen from him before.

Gaara looked back her way and she quickly averted her gaze, trying her best to listen closely as he explained a different way of attack for her, but after seeing what she had, she was endlessly curious. Who had written him so personally? Her kidnapping incident, not even two weeks prior, had given her a clue as to who the sender was…but what had it said? To make the vessel of the sand demon smile so softly…she was desperately intrigued but resigned to the fact that she'd never ask and therefore never know. But still…

 _Soon,_ it had said. _I promise_.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


	7. Installment 4 (1)

And just like that, we're back at it again!

Hello all of my lovely fanfic addicts, it feels good to be in the good ol' grind of writing as if my life depends on it. I swear, there is just no better feeling.

This next installment, as it sits now, could turn out to be quite long so I think I'll keep it as shorter parts to keep the updates coming. From the reviews, I gather that most all of you would prefer that over longer installments updated months apart. It may be another three-parter, or a four-parter, and after this, I will simply _have_ to return to my own novel for a little while. I've only finished part one, and if I'm ever going to get published part two must at _least_ be in the works.

I will continue to post more updates as I progress and – I'll say it again – I am just over the moon with how much support I've gotten through writing this fanfic. Honestly, give yourselves a nice round of applause because that's amazing, you're _all_ amazing. And now, before I start to ramble and gush with feelings, I give you Excerpts of Time, the beginning of Installment Four.

Follow the Sun, Excerpts of Time

Installment 4; Part 1

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

How long had it been?

Nearly compelled to take her sandals off, Sakura yearned to sink her toes into the dusty beginnings of the desert, to feel the heat of the sand on her skin once again. She breathed deeply, noting that the air had even lost the dampness that the deep forest held, the mustiness that seeped from the trees and permeated the air like a fragrant cologne. It was dryer now, the scent on the wind carrying a hot, earthy tone that beckoned her ever onward.

Too long, it had simply been too long.

With her pack slung over her shoulder, a less cumbersome pack than she was used to traveling with, she set off from the scattered trees and toward the desert beyond. She had a few essentials with her but did not carry her usual allotment of knives and first aid, nor did she have her sleeping pack with her. Instead, the bag was filled with a few day's spare clothes, some feminine essentials, and little else. This was not a mission that she journeyed for, there were no bandits to stop or people to save, not this time.

She had left Konoha with a pace that she had meant to keep leisurely but it soon evolved into a quick-footed race against the sun. How soon could she make it? Did she need to stop at the inn for the night? She had reservations, her parents had been kind enough to set her up with a room, but did she _need_ it? No, she _needed_ the desert, she _needed_ the warmth of the glaring sun, and there was another promised bed awaiting her there.

Stopping by the inn for a quick shower in her room and a chance to change clothes, she had written a letter to her friend while she helped herself to some warm tea and a complimentary meal. She had told Temari that she would be traveling through the night, hopefully arriving half a day or so earlier than planned, and sent it off with a raven ahead of her. After resting her feet and giving away the remainder of her reservation, she had started off again for Suna.

That had been the night before, and she decided on keeping her short stop to herself once she returned home.

 _Don't travel the roads alone at night_ , her father had warned, _it can be dangerous without your team_.

She knew that, of course, but she also knew that she packed one of the biggest punches in her class. Not only that, but she was sure she could stunt most any man to try a hand at her. Their fearsome leader hadn't chosen her as an apprentice for no reason, after all.

The sun was high in the sky, it was a warmer afternoon than had recently graced her in the forest, and she was able to expect a warm stroll through the sands. If she kept a good pace and didn't wander off trail, she planned to make it to the desert city by nightfall. It would be colder then, and she didn't fancy a night in the open sands as she did one sleeping in the trees. There was a lot of exposure out here, the shifting dunes hid many things, proper paths included, and she was keen not to stay out on her own for too long.

Soon, the scarcity of trees turned into a complete absence of them, the dried shrubs along the ground began to dwindle as well, and tufts of grass were left behind as quickly as they had come. Before long, Sakura had wandered into another world, an alien landscape, and she embraced the windswept land before her with a refreshed eagerness.

 _Yes_ , she thought as she started off into the winding dunes, _it's been far too long_.

…

"Gaara?" Temari exclaimed, batting away the remnants of sand left swarming in the air. "You're already done?"

"Hm," he muttered with a nod, his goggles pressing uncomfortably against his face. He scratched some sand from his scalp, pulling his hood down as he did.

Temari stood with her team, they were preparing for their scheduled round out from the city, and Gaara's sudden arrival was, as it always seemed to be, abrupt and unexpected amongst them all. Temari nodded to him, always impressed with how quickly Gaara was able to finish his solo duties when not encumbered by a team, or even by herself or their brother. "Good," she said, a lighter tone to her voice this time.

Gaara removed the goggles from his face, unwrapping his scarf as well, and gave the bridge of his nose a well-deserved rub. The day had already proven to be long, as it started with training Matsuri – she hadn't been free for long, having prior engagements she had said, things he wouldn't keep her from – and continued with going out into the country for long distance rounds west of the city. Boring and uneventful, feeling as though it took much longer than it actually had. It wasn't even time for lunch yet, though he thought of taking an early one if Temari had nothing else for him.

"I've got a favor to ask."

 _Damn_.

He swallowed his words and glanced over to his sister.

"Could you go and meet Sakura?" she asked, her voice so expectant of him.

Gaara drew his brow in confusion. "That's tomorrow," he clarified, turning to fully face her now that she'd caught his interest.

Temari shook her head with a roll of her eyes. "I must've forgotten to tell you. I got a letter last night from the inn she was supposed to stay at."

 _Supposed to?_

"She decided to travel through the night instead, must be close to the border by now."

Gaara nodded, thinking back to how long it would have taken her to get from the inn within her countries borders to the barrier of the desert. If she had skipped a rest for the night than she could very well be in their country already.

"You'll have no problem finding her, right?"

"No," he answered quickly, resisting the urge to crack his knuckles. _A nervous tick_ , Kankuro had likened it to, _and people are starting to notice_. "Not at all."

Temari smiled. "Good," she said, turning a quick glance to her team to be sure they were still gathering their necessities. "I won't be back from rounds in time to go out and meet her, you'll make sure she gets back okay?" she asked as her gaze fell back on her brother. "I'd hate for her to get lost again."

Gaara nodded, already turning away from the party gathered behind his sister. "She won't," he assured, knowing very well that with proper direction Sakura could find her way anywhere, but still, he would be there to be sure.

"Thanks!" Temari called out as a misty shroud of sand rose along the ground after him. "See you when you get back."

Absentmindedly checking the canteen attached at his hip, he determined it felt heavy enough and brought his scarf back up around his face. For a moment as he waved a hand back at his sister, Gaara was one foot in their world and one foot in his. Then the sand took him, opening up so freely and so simply for him as it had always done, and he was gone. To his sister and her gathered squad, there was nothing but a quiet emptiness from where he had been, and indeed he was already long gone. Temari had asked him once, what the desert felt like to him in moments such as these, and he couldn't think of any one proper way to describe it. At times it was a feeling of singularity amidst a vast and unsympathetic being. Other times it felt comforting and securing, the only home he'd known for far too long. When collapsed into it as he was, it was as if the whole desert opened to him, endless in its bountiful potential to be anywhere, and yet…

Quickly materializing a few miles outside the eastern gates, with nothing but the open desert surrounding him, Gaara popped a few nervous knuckles. Perhaps his brother was right, perhaps it _was_ simply a nervous tick now. He paused a moment, the wind whistling softly over the dunes, and cursed. His damn hands felt sweaty, his tongue even felt tight in his throat. Again, his hand went absentmindedly to his side, to the lower pocket on his gourd's strap that safely carried her latest note, a promise of three little words.

He exhaled a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "That's tomorrow…" he mumbled as if the words could rectify the reality.

Swallowing that bothersome tightness to his throat, he stepped back out into the sands, taking a few paces in the open air to clear his head.

They hadn't parted well last time they met and, in light of that, Gaara was starting to notice an unwelcome pattern in development. It had been hard enough trying to comfort her after the desertion of Sasuke, and their mission prior to that had left them little time for goodbyes as he would have had them, but he felt a fool for his most recent performance. His own tongue tasted bitter when he thought of what transpired between them, she'd been flustered because of him, roused into an angry upset all because he'd been so worried, and indeed he _had_ been worried. But, as the days went on, her absolute confidence in herself, and in him, had dulled the edges those memories and he found it difficult to remember anything but how she had selflessly risked herself for him.

And he'd yelled at her.

Again, he cursed. He was supposed to have another day to think about this, to figure out what to say to her, but here she was, out and about in his desert again.

Gaara relented and called up his sand, whether she knew it or not, she was waiting for him, he would decide on his words then. The grains of the dunes shifted underfoot and followed up after his quick pace, once more swallowing him into the depth of their grasp.

Eastward he went, able to navigate his way better than even the most seasoned nomadic traveler, skilled though they were. He had his markers out here, his beacons that reflected the echoes of his essence rippling out from him, there was the thumping of life as well; the movement of the nomadic convoys were always a hint as to where he was depending on the time of year, and the steadfast pathway of outposts was quite an easy map to follow. Soon they wouldn't matter, though, he wouldn't need them to navigate once the feel of her finally broke through the background.

 _Soon_ , Gaara thought, a strange mixture of eager trepidation overcoming him. _I promise_.

…

If she had been anyone else, she might have been surprised.

To the untrained eye, it seemed as if a sudden dust devil had whipped up not ten paces ahead, the wind to cause it all together random and fleeting, leaving only a man standing in its wake. Sakura bit the inside of her lip, her eyes fixed on the face hidden behind the wrapping of a scarf, the pace of her heart now feeling hard in her chest. Gaara paused a moment as if to gauge her upon his arrival – taking immediate note of the rather expectant look on her face – and stepped forward, drawing the scarf from around his face.

Of course, she'd been expecting him. At least…for the last mile or so. Truthfully, she expected to make her way to the nearest outpost by herself, intent on grabbing more water and ensuring her path before starting off again. But a certain heaviness had taken to the air, a static that seemed to gather between the hairs on her arms, and she felt well versed in this power now. It was no alien sensation anymore, it was Gaara, and here he stood to prove her right.

Gaara stopped a few paces away from her, his lips sewn shut and his mouth suddenly dry as he took her in. She had a rosy tint to her cheeks and a blushing across her shoulders as well…they shouldn't have been bare…and the belt slung loosely around her waist also seemed lacking.

"You'll get sunburn like that," he mentioned, deciding it the best he could manage for a greeting.

Sakura shrugged, her inner lip slipping from her tooth to let forth a small grin. "Perhaps," she sighed, looking over the once paler skin of her arms. "It just gets so hot."

Gaara nodded his head once, taking another step forward as he did. "You must get used to it, it's not as bad as you think."

Sakura seemed to dismiss this, her gaze stayed low and her eyes seemed evasive. She touched her canteen while looking plainly at his. "Would yours be any cooler?" she asked.

"I've been out all morning," he explained, wishing now that he had freshened his water before heading out. "It's no better than yours."

Nodding, Sakura took a drink and poured a little into her hands to run across the back of her neck and over her brow. There was a quiet bit of time that passed between them, and she glanced up to find him looking at her with a very scrutinizing gaze. "Hi, Gaara," she said, finally giving him a proper greeting.

"Hello," he replied. The greeting was more so like a snide remark as it sounded, to Sakura at least, and he quickly moved on from it. "You need more supplies, Sakura."

"This isn't a mission," she explained, her feet moving again and taking her onward down her path. She approached Gaara and he readily kept pace at her side. Glancing over at him just quickly enough, she'd wondered if he'd been as tall last time she saw him. She was sure he'd added half an inch or so, but never thought it would actually make him look, well…different.

"I know," he said in response, a little quirk to his face as he mulled over her words. Had _he_ ever traveled for the sake of leisure, even once? No, he was sure he hadn't. "But the road –"

"Is a dangerous place," Sakura sighed, quoting her father as his voice rung so freshly in her mind. She shook her head, tucking some hair behind her ear and away from the soft breeze. "I got here just fine, through the night and everything."

"I knew you would," Gaara said, feeling compelled to clarify. "But out here, the road itself can be your enemy. You mustn't let it have the upper hand."

"The upper hand?" she repeated, her eyes swiveling up to his for a moment, catching his gaze before looking off to the open dunes again.

Gaara nodded, falling back half a step to observe the way her shoulders gathered around her neck and the heaviness to her steps. "Sunburn and dehydration are no passing inconveniences out here, you know this."

Oh, yes, she did. There were still nights that she would dream of the desert, recollections of being lost in its endless mess of dunes and mirages. Even in her dreams the air still burned her lungs, the sun still blistered her skin, and she always woke parched beyond belief. But in the cooler light of day she remembered only the enchantment she had felt within the safety of the city, the colors that danced across a virgin sky and the promises she'd been given to see even more.

"Well," she sighed, meeting his eyes again. "Good thing you came along."

Gaara didn't know what to say. Did she mean now? Or was she eluding to her last rendezvous through the desert she'd taken? Either way, she was right, he was here and she would meet no ill intent from either friend, foe, or even the ground on which they walked while he was. "Temari told me to come," he admitted, both to this occasion as well as the last. "I thought you would arrive tomorrow."

Sakura paused a moment, now that they'd said their hellos and she had him alone. Gaara thought to ask if she'd even heard him. "I've been meaning to say something," she said quietly, her fingers fussing with the strap on her pack. "About the other week, with Matsuri getting taken and all that…you were right."

"What do you mean?" he asked, not at all trusting himself with an interpretation of her thoughts.

Sakura drew her lip between her teeth and looked on ahead as if the awaiting road offered answers for her. "Well…okay, Tsunade wasn't happy when the mission report was finalized and submitted." Gaara hesitated to nod. The success of that mission hadn't been welcome news to some on Suna's own council, they had hoped he would simply perish if his memory served him well enough. "And basically," she said, stopping in her tracks as Gaara stopped alongside her. She looked up at him, a conflicted and barely suppressed acceptance in her eyes. "You were right, I shouldn't have done what I did. It was foolhardy and could have been dangerous."

"It _was_ dangerous," he clarified. "But," he began again. "I couldn't have finished it without you."

For a flicker of a moment, she fought a smile from overcoming her lips and resigned to shake her head. "You could have," she said, a softer tone to her voice, a tone of certainty. "But when I got back," she began to explain. "Tsunade sat me down and went over the steps of our protocol. We have rules and stipulations in place to protect our people in battle, rules that have been implemented, reconsidered, and changed all for the sake of fulfillment of the mission and lowering every possibility of mortality on the job." She paused a moment, a slow breath taken through her nose, a very clearly hurt pride trying to remain undeterred. "I wasn't in charge, I didn't listen to my squad leader, and you're right, what I did was dangerous."

Gaara watched her silently, unjudging, just observing how she held herself, how she spoke, how the tone of her voice sounded more so directed at herself than at him. He thought so, at least.

"As a medical ninja," Sakura continued. "I have a duty to _everyone_ , and a large part of that is keeping myself safe and capable of doing my job even when everyone else is at their limits."

Gaara wasn't so convinced that these were Sakura's words, they sounded like things she might say, but it all looked like she was reading from a script he couldn't see.

"What I did was foolish and unwise for the sake of the team, I see that now. I'm sorry for putting you in the middle of it." She quieted, her gaze was still low and clearly avoiding his as she continued to fiddle with the buckles on her pack's straps.

Gaara thought over her words, trying to picture what had awaited her after being called into her mentor's office for a bout of scolding. It seemed she was far more prideful than she intended to let on, and there were some clear wounds to that pride that hadn't all healed yet. "They just want you to be safe," he offered, knowing very well how incredibly _unsafe_ he could be at times. "They can't risk losing all of your potential."

She nodded at this, but her face didn't lift at all.

"So," Gaara started, his voice a little more awkward than it had been just a moment ago. "Is that why this isn't a mission?" he asked.

"Yeah," she sighed, her feet moving off yet again as if the spot in which she stood had turned sour from her own words. "I needed a break."

"Anything you want to talk about?" he offered again. "My letters from you always seem lacking when stacked up to Temari's."

She shrugged, knowing full well that she divulged more of her personal thoughts and feelings to Temari than she did to Gaara, she had always figured he'd find out from his sister anyway. "I've been doing well, very well, but it can be a lot. There's all the studying, the physical training, the practicing for my medical training, and, oh!" she exclaimed. "Just _tons_ of tests," she said with a bite to her words. "It all costs money and it all piles up so quickly. Naruto and Sasuke are gone, I'm not making any income through doing team missions anymore, and to be honest I didn't think I'd miss him as much as I do."

"Sasuke?" he asked, the name flying from his lips before he could think better of it.

Sakura shook her head, a little sheepishly as it were. "I was talking about Naruto. But, yeah, I miss him too. Naruto was just so good at taking your stress away, he was like a magnet for it and the other guys are great, but…Naruto was my teammate, it's different with him."

Gaara paused before he spoke again, feeling that his curiosity would simply get the better of him if he tried otherwise, so he relented to give in. "What about Sasuke?" he asked, the name burning his tongue as he spoke. Sakura perked her head up and looked to him. "You had said you loved him."

Very quickly, she found herself with heat on her cheeks, the words she'd so desperately spewed to the air once again making their rounds in her head. "I know," she admitted, her voice a little coy now. "And I do. Just," she paused, not really noticing the breath that Gaara had yet to release. "Just not like I said I did."

Gaara exhaled and swallowed. "Would things be different if he was still around?" he asked, feeling a little better of his chosen line of questioning now.

Sakura laughed, it was a short and awkward sort of thing, but it was a laugh nonetheless and Gaara thought better of her mood then as well. "It's hard to say, he was never really the sympathetic type. I doubt I'd get much comfort from him, no matter the stress, I'm sure."

Gaara nodded, thinking over his own attempts at lessening the strain she felt, wondering how he might stack up to the man in that regard. "It sounds like the last few weeks have been stressful," he said, settling on the fact rather quickly.

Sakura nodded, the knots in her shoulders and the tension that would gather in her throat were products of that stress that she found impossible to ignore. Just last week, only a few short days before she was to leave for the desert, she'd had to excuse herself from one of her tests. Sitting alone in the bathroom, she tried to keep those hot and angry tears from breaking the boundary of her lashes with little success. So suddenly that stress had built up in her, all over a question on her exam. Maybe she was distracted, or maybe she couldn't think straight, or perhaps she just didn't know the answer to it, but it had felt like a fault in the perfection of her academics that nearly had her a mess. It wasn't really about the test, she knew that, but it had been the final drop to break the dam and she'd been fighting those waters ever since.

Even now, her throat felt tight at the thought of it, that stress continued to coil unpleasantly around her gut. "Yeah," she said softly, worried the catch in her throat could be heard. "It has."

Gaara chose his next words carefully, the tone of her voice and the tension in her shoulders very clear to him now. "We don't have to walk back," he said. "If you don't want to."

Sakura looked over to him, a sort of hopefulness she almost tried to hide. "I didn't want to assume…"

Gaara shook his head. "It's no problem," he assured, reaching out his hand only to brush the backs of his fingers against her arm, a small gesture that successfully halted her tracks and turned her to fully face him. "I don't mind."

She seemed to shed some unseen weight just then, as if the promises of his abilities lessened some of the tension she carried, and he was glad to see it. "Will Temari be there?" she asked.

"No," he answered. "She's out with her squad. We could go for lunch in the meantime, I bet you're hungry."

Sakura nodded, the growing hunger in her belly causing an almost eager approach to him. "I'd like that," she said, a few grains of sand lifting from the ground at her feet as Gaara opened an arm toward her.

She stepped up next to him, a strange sort of twitch lingering where he'd first grazed her waist with his touch. She willed her heart to settle as best she could, the entrance to Gaara's world was always thrilling, but she used to it by now, wasn't she? Looking out at the sand around them, floating so gracefully on the wind, untethered by worldly bounds, Sakura moved in close to Gaara.

But that's all she did, Gaara noted, she just moved closer. She did not lean into him, she did not give him any portion of her weight to carry though he would have done so gladly, and he could _feel_ that she wasn't at all relaxed. Her shoulders were high and tense, like a barrier between them that hadn't been there before, and she felt stiff under his hand as if determined to stand on her own. Suddenly, having an arm around her felt awkward, as if presumptuous and…and wrong.

But the sand drew in closer, an addictive sort of buzzing accompanying the way that it would so gently break her apart and carry her off, and then she did lean into him. For comfort, for protection, or perhaps even for a bit of security, he didn't know. He tightened his grip on her, welcoming the weight she did eventually press against him, but still, the stiffness between them remained.

He thought back to her speech earlier, so clearly rehearsed and repeated, and wondered what she might have redacted. Most likely she'd been told that she had gotten too close to him, too close to the danger he'd only barely kept in check, and had probably been warned against doing so again. That's what this was, he was sure, as there was an evident distance to her now, an evasiveness even as she stood there next to him.

It didn't matter, he decided, he should have been expecting it anyway. All that mattered was that she was here, she was back and she was glad to be.

His siblings had managed to catch a break from training and their usual runs for Sakura's stay, they'd planned for three days off of duties, but Gaara had chosen to forgo those attempts. He needed to do more, needed to try harder to repair the rifts in his ties with his people, and he felt sure he would see her plenty often during her stay.

But now that he'd seen her, once again so perfectly silhouetted against the backdrop of his desert, three days didn't seem like such a long time.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


	8. Installment 4 (2)

Follow the Sun, Excerpts of Time

Installment 4; Part 2

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

 _Pretty little thing, isn't she?_

It hadn't been the first time those words had made rounds in Gaara's mind, and he was sure this wouldn't be the last, but he wasn't so sure that they fit her as well anymore. Pretty? Of course, he'd settled that a while ago, but little? Though his vertical growth had outdone her own, she indeed stood taller than she had in his earlier memories of her, though she was no longer able to look him squarely in the eyes as she once had. Her face had changed too, but so subtly that he wasn't really sure until he took another look at the old and creased photo he still carried. She wasn't so rounded in the face anymore, her chin and jawline seemed more angled than they had before, and he was sure that her cheekbones hadn't been so prominent.

Some things were still the same, however. Her eyes were still just as vibrant and vivacious, her lips curved into that captivating smile all the same, and she still wouldn't hesitate to throw it his way.

No, perhaps _pretty_ didn't do her justice any longer, perhaps she was more so-

"Thanks for lunch," Sakura said from his side, a casual glance landing on him for a moment.

Gaara nodded, turning his focus away from her and back out to the open desert that stretched before them. "It was nothing."

Sakura's arrival to Suna had been swift and effortless once she'd run into Gaara and he'd taken them to the eastern gates where a team of guards was stationed for duty. She handed over her entry pass, signed by the Hokage and permitting her to stay, and it was filed for their own record keeping. Once documented, she and Gaara made a straight course for his home where she relieved herself of her pack and changed her clothes before they headed out for lunch.

It was like Deja Vu to be back in the market again, the aroma in the air conjuring memories of her last time through the crowded streets, and it wasn't at all difficult to convince Gaara to show her the way to the vendor she'd eaten at before. It was his favorite if she remembered correctly. It had taken some time to get there as Sakura easily became distracted by almost anything that the local artisans were selling, but she savored every step through the market as they went. The food had intrigued her endlessly, as well as the craftsman boasting their art, and a few patrons had given her strange side glances as she mentioned what she liked and what fascinated her to Gaara. The looks only got stranger as they rested on him, as he wasn't one to so willingly entertain foreign guests, but he didn't mind. She was off to another stand just as quickly as she'd settled on the last, and eventually, they disappeared in the mingling crowd with Gaara patiently leading the way.

Soon enough, their destination came into view; the painted awning of the shop flapping in the breeze and garnering lots of hungry attention. The two young men working the grills were fiercely efficient and Gaara and Sakura quickly made their way through the line of people. The woman running the place, just as dusty blonde and sun-kissed as ever, nearly picked Sakura out of the crowd and ushered them over to the side for a personal greeting.

"You're back!" she said with a wide grin, her eyes darting between them both.

Sakura had returned her smile and was genuinely surprised that the woman had remembered her. They had only spoken once before, and she was sure she hadn't left _that_ big of an impression. "Of course," she replied, her hand slipping to the fresh water at her side. "I just couldn't stay away."

The woman's eyes rested on Gaara a moment, very clearly trying to hold back a smirk, before returning to their guest once again. "Glad to see we haven't scared you off."

Sakura laughed; a bright and airy gift the ears around them. "Oh goodness, no! You'll have to try harder for that."

"Here on business?" she asked, pulling a small rag from her apron to wipe down her sweaty palms.

Gaara answered for her, as Sakura had taken an untimely drink from her canteen. "Leisure," he said evenly. "A few days."

The woman looked at him squarely, her lips pursed in just a little bit of thought. "But none for you?" she questioned.

There was such a knowing quality to her voice and such a truth to her words that Gaara wondered if perhaps he came here too often, clearly the woman could read him. "I'm afraid not," he answered, following his words with a glance to his side.

Sakura looked up at him, her canteen left uncapped and a sudden dejection to her eyes. "You didn't get off?" she asked, her voice higher and softer than before.

 _Damn_.

Gaara turned to face her a little more. "I should keep up on my assignments."

Sakura frowned, her brow scrunching together. "You've known long enough, did you even ask?"

The woman across the counter folded her arms. "To be fair," she began. "Gaara's very good at what's needed of him," she offered.

Sakura only rolled her eyes and looked up at Gaara very skeptically. "Only you?" she challenged. "There's not _one_ person who could fill your shoes for _three days_?"

"Well, honestly," Gaara said, hoping the slight lift in his voice would lighten her mood with him. "I'd like to think not."

"That's entirely too egotistical of you," Sakura said pointedly, not wanting to outright admit that the woman was right; Gaara _was_ good at what he did.

He shrugged in response, unapologetic of his talents to the end. "I'll see you plenty."

"Fine," she said, a mock little sigh leaving her lips on the word. "Pick something for me while I get a cold tea," she instructed, turning away from him in what he could only describe as a show of defiance. She smiled to the woman at the counter, promising to be back again before starting off to another stand.

"She's upset you didn't take time off for her visit," said the woman from across the counter, her voice very flat and deadpan.

"Thank you," Gaara said, his words a little strained as he tried to keep down his grimace. He turned to look at her. "I can see that."

She paused a moment as if to study him, and then that smooth, almost knowing tone came back to her voice. "So, a spicy special and a veggie curry."

Gaara sighed, perhaps he _did_ come here too often. "Sure."

Sakura had returned shortly after with a chilled tea and a freshly pleasant smile. With their food ready, Gaara had shown her out of the market and to the trail up the northern wall. They sat along the base of the trail, there was a bench and some tables there, and enjoyed their meal in relative solitude. She had been hungry, that much was clear, and within only a short while she had spilled the details of her travel thus far while simultaneously stuffing her mouth with food. Gaara only sat in a sort of obedient quiet, content to just listen to her as he picked over his plate.

It was after they finished that Sakura allowed him to show the way up the wall, to sit and watch the sands until Temari's return later in the afternoon.

The desert was still, only the dusting of sand and the whistling of the winds were out in that great wide open country, but even so, it was beautiful. It was the emptiness, the mystery, the haunting enchantment of the dunes that had called her away from home, and so eager she had been to leave the friendly and familiar behind in its favor.

She glanced to her side, to where Gaara sat intently watching the lands of his country. Perhaps it hadn't been _just_ the arid land that had beckoned her away from home, perhaps it had been something else as well.

There was a crackle between them and Gaara quickly responded to the radio left lying on the ground.

"Gaara?" the speaker buzzed, a familiar voice joining the two of them.

Gaara picked up the radio and handed it over to Sakura, she could answer his sister, it's what Temari was really after anyway.

Sakura pressed the receiver and spoke into the mic. "Temari!" she greeted with a smile that was sure to echo in her voice. "It's Sakura!"

"Hey, hun!" Temari greeted, the clarity of her voice harboring the same excitement. "It's good to hear your voice, are you in the city?"

"Mhmm, Gaara picked me up and we went for lunch. Will you be back soon?" she asked, all too eager to catch up with her friend in person.

"Oh, good!" Temari exclaimed. "I'm glad you ate. I'll pay you back, Gaara," she promised, knowing full well that he could hear her. "We're just getting to the gates, come meet us at the squad station in, oh…ten minutes?"

"We'll be there," Sakura affirmed. "See you soon!"

The radio line clicked off and Sakura returned Gaara's radio.

"They made good time," he mentioned, surprised they were able to shave an hour off their usual run time. "She must be excited to see you."

Sakura grinned back, a quirky sort of sass on her lips. "She better be."

…

" _There's_ my girl!"

Sakura couldn't help but smile widely as she stepped away from Gaara and the sand that settled around them, the arm at her waist slipping from her with no resistance.

Temari was upon her within a moment, her arms thrown tightly around her friend's shoulders as they shared an affectionate squeeze. "I'm so glad you're here!" she said, her cheek pressed against Sakura's.

"Thanks for having me," Sakura said, her eyes sliding to Kankuro as well as she drew out of the hug. "I'll try not to be such a bother this time around."

Kankuro snorted a laugh. "Bother or not," he said as he approached her, his field gear already off and left behind. "You're always welcome."

Sakura gave him a quick hug, one that he returned with a single arm thrown about her shoulder and just the slightest squeeze. "Let me know when I need to return the favor," she said to Temari. "I don't have a spare room but you could sleep in my bed. Just keep it in mind."

Temari nodded and ushered her forward. Her team had relieved themselves of their gear and were quickly dispersing, but there remained a select few that lingered to the side, waiting patiently for their turn to greet their foreign guest.

Niko approached with a hesitant yet happy smile and Miller hung close to her side. "Hey," she greeted with a small wave. "It's good to see you again."

Sakura nodded with a smile. "You too, I hope you've been well."

"Very," Niko agreed. "I'm glad you came in today. I'll be heading back to the country tomorrow to spend some time with my family and was afraid I'd miss you." This seemed to embarrass her, or at least cause her to feel awkward, as she quickly followed up before Sakura could answer. "The caravans are moving on soon, traveling east for the season, and being a navigator I-"

"All right, that's enough," Miller interjected rather unceremoniously. "You can tell her later. Sakura!" he exclaimed after silencing Niko's ramble before it could begin. His arms were tight around her waist within an instant, an eager and wholehearted embrace that lifted her from the ground and squeezed a genuine and bright laugh from her lungs.

"Miller," she said in her laugh. "Hello!"

Gaara was nearly stumped, entirely caught off guard by the way Miller had approached her. So comfortable and confident, no hesitation or second thought, and to see how happy she became because of it. Once again he resisted the urge to crack his knuckles and looked to the side, attempting to hide his expression if his face had suddenly gone as sour as his mood.

Miller set Sakura down, holding her for an extra moment as she returned his hug with her own.

Maybe it was the late afternoon sun or the light sheen of sweat across her brow, but to Gaara, it looked as though she was positively glowing when she pulled back and looked up at him.

"It's so good to see you again," he said. "Thanks for getting the captain off my back for a few days," he jeered, throwing an unapologetic grin to the woman in question. Temari only rolled her eyes at the statement.

"No runs while she's away?" Sakura questioned.

Niko shook her head. "Not that, just a different captain to fill in for her."

"Yeah," Miller agreed. "But they're always late so at least I'll get to sleep in a little." Sakura nodded, thinking back to the early mornings she'd spent waiting on Kakashi in the past. "So we're going out tonight, right?" he said, an insistent hopefulness beaming in his eyes.

Sakura pulled her brow together, confused, and looked back to Temari. She shared the same hopeful look as her subordinate. "Out?"

Temari began to respond but Miller, enthused as he was, took it upon himself to explain. "A brother of mine works the doors at a local spot downtown. I persuaded him to let you girls in and the bar doesn't card once you're inside."

"Oh," Sakura said, her eyes widening in realization. " _That_ kind of out."

"Exam time must have you stressing pretty bad," he noted. Sakura shrugged and looked to down, nodding in agreement. From the side, Gaara stifled a sudden grimace, only now realizing he'd been the last to hear of Sakura's stresses. "You gotta let that go, it's a vacation, hunny! No better way to start than with a stiff drink."

Temari placed a hand to Sakura's arm. "Please?" she asked. "It'll be fun!"

Gaara decided to break his silence and interjected. "Temari," he addressed, his stern voice earning the prompt attention of his sister. "You've only got a few more months, you can't wait?"

"I assure you, she'll be fine," Miller said without skipping a beat. "It's the middle of the week, no one's gonna be there to tattle on her."

Gaara shared a look with him before looking back to his sister. "You could be reprimanded," he reminded her. "And so could she." He looked over to Sakura, catching a glimpse of the interest filling her eyes, and knew his argument would only fall on deaf ears.

"As he said, we'll be fine," Temari said, hooking an arm around Sakura's and throwing her younger brother a defiant look undercut with vibrant happiness. "It's my vacation too, you know."

Miller grinned, knowing quite well that the captain was on his side and she had been ever since he'd mentioned it to her on their run that afternoon. "Great! I'll meet up with you guys later," he said, grabbing his personal belongings and leaving his field equipment behind.

"Don't be late," Temari said, eager to finally have a chance to leave her responsibilities behind and unwind with her team, with her friends, and feel normal for once.

It hadn't been only Gaara that lived a life under monumental expectations, all three of them had, and the older she got the more determined she was to grab onto life outside of the missions and training, the drills and bureaucracy. She'd already thought to when Sakura would be old enough to go out with her whenever they pleased, and there was a sake bar built in a cherry orchard that was a very high priority on her list of things to do in Konoha when she herself got a proper vacation away from home.

But, until then, a hole in the wall a few blocks from home would have to do.

Miller strode off with Niko in pace beside him, leaving just Sakura and her hosts back at the squad station. He'd agreed to help her settle her things and pack for her own trip home, freeing up her evening to join them for a drink or two.

"Sounds fun," Sakura mentioned as she turned to Temari. "Just us then?"

Kankuro answered her with mock upset. "I suppose, I don't recall being invited so you'll have to do without me for the night."

Sakura smirked and threw him a sarcastic look to rival his own. "However will I survive?"

"Let's stop by the scouting office on the way home," Temari said as she locked away the field supplies left by her squad. "I just have a report statement to submit and then I'm free."

Sakura nodded. "Sounds great."

…

"Is that everything?" Sakura asked, pulling her hair up to pin behind her ear, a pair of thin silver bracelets dangled at her wrists accented her movement with dainty chimes. It hadn't taken long for Temari to throw a dress her way, a mid-length dress – black of course – that slipped effortlessly over her skin and hung in a loose yet complementary way from Sakura's figure.

Temari stood by the door, her own slim black dress pulled up from her shins to better slip on her sandals. "Should be," she answered back, her words punctuated by a knock at the door behind her.

She opened the door and Miller allowed himself inside, nodding politely as he did. "Good evening, everyone." Niko followed in after him and shut the door behind her, waving politely to the gathered group.

"We're almost ready," Temari said as she rummaged through her shoulder bag once more, allowing Sakura a moment to slip into her shoes.

"You guys look great," Niko commented, appreciating the way that their foreign friend wore their local fashions so well. Sakura smiled and thanked her, but not before Miller was sure to say the same.

"Grab my radio?" Temari asked, glancing up to her brothers in question.

Gaara picked her personal set up from the table and slipped it into the bag held open for him. "Let us know if you need anything."

She nodded and smiled back to them both. "Sure thing, see you later!"

Sakura waved back as she was shown the door and Miller nodded once more to them before he left with the girls.

The house was quiet for a moment but outside they could hear some excited chattering and laughter fade through the door. Gaara stared at the door, strangely alone as his sister went off with her team and their friend, as if the door itself had severed the possibility of inclusion.

Kankruo sat on their couch, pulling the broken joint of a puppet project from the side table drawer, and began to unscrew the pieces. He glanced back to his brother, still staring at the door, and then back again to his work. He'd seen the way that Gaara had reacted when they met up at the scout station, and even if he was socially inept, there was indeed a name for what he had felt; jealousy.

He could have slapped him if it were possible, and he was still tempted to shake him a little. "Gaara," he called out, garnering his younger brother's attention. "You can join them if you want."

Gaara didn't respond, he only looked down and thinned his lips. No, he couldn't, he hadn't been invited, and they had looked happy and content enough continuing on without him.

Kankuro sighed, growing tired of these one-sided conversations with Gaara. "Still just as dense as ever, eh?" This earned him a stern look as Gaara rounded the couch to confront him.

"Dense?" he questioned, not at all fond of how the word reflected him.

Kankruo nodded as he looked up to him. "Well, I don't blame you," he started, choosing his words carefully. "I mean, yeah, she's pretty and women can be hard to understand, but –"

"Excuse me?" Gaara interrupted, a sudden feeling of defensiveness rising within him rather unannounced.

Kankuro paused, looking at his brother deadpan. "I'm not stupid, Gaara, and I'm not blind either." Gaara chose not to respond, unsure of what his own words would get him in this conversation. "Don't just assume," Kankuro said.

Gaara paused a moment, thinking over his brother's words. He knew who he was talking about, they'd spoken of Sakura before, but Gaara couldn't seem to help how he became guarded and quickly shut their conversations down. But assume? "Assume what?"

"Lots of things, Gaara, you assume lots of things. And another thing," he said, letting some of his exasperation slip. It seemed to resonate with Gaara, the tone that his brother used, and he seemed more inclined to listen. "You can't be mad at Miller for knowing about Sakura's troubles back home." Gaara felt his throat tighten and awkwardness come over him. "You're hardly ever on group runs with us anymore, so you wouldn't know, but Miller asks Temari about her. He asks _me_. If he wants to know something, he'll ask about it. When was the last time you asked about her?"

Gaara stayed quiet, thinking about his brother's words and the truth he knew was behind them. He hadn't asked. He'd thought of her constantly, cursed with that voice in his memory and her touch still staining his skin, but he'd never…asked.

"Exactly." Kankruo resumed removing the screws from his puppet, mumbling a little as he concentrated. "I'm sure they're strictly platonic anyway."

 _Platonic_ , Gaara thought. He'd heard that word before, he was sure, but what did –

"It means they're just friends," Kankuro said, noticing the thought in Gaara's eyes.

"I know what it means," he snapped back, the bridge of his nose pinched in frustrated embarrassment.

Kankruo shrugged, gathering his joints and screws together to finish up in his own room. "Either do something about it or stop sulking. You owe yourself at least that much." He waved a limp hand in Gaara's direction as he passed. "I'll see you in the morning."

He left then, the stairs creaking under him with every step he took, and Gaara was left alone.

The awkwardness he felt turned into an uncomfortable weight that settled in his gut. Do something?

 _Do what?_

…

"Your brother is quite the charmer."

Miller rolled his eyes, a small grimace tugging on his lips from the remark. "I'm not so sure, he can have too much of an ego."

"Well, I definitely see where _you_ get it from."

He shot her a warning glance but Niko only laughed, a bright and singsong laugh that was unusual from her, but expected given the light blush painted across her cheeks.

She had been giving Miller grief ever since his brother had left his post at the door to try and make a pass at her. Sakura was off limits thanks to Temari's watchful eye, and Temari herself was an intimidating sight even with her slim fitting dress and lack of weaponry. That left Niko as the object of his attention. Miller had shooed him away quickly enough, outright embarrassed by his brother's behavior, and had tried his best to move on with the night in spite of Niko's harassment.

Sakura noticed a change in the dynamic of the group since she had first met them months ago, they seemed more at ease with one another, it was clear that they spent time together outside of the squad runs and had established a certain friendship that official title held no sway over. She smiled, happy to know that Temari was surrounded by good spirits both in her team and out of it.

"Niko," Temari scolded. "Don't antagonize the poor boy."

Miller scowled at her, not very fond of the motherly sort of tone she'd used. " _Boy_?" he gawked, an overzealous amount of mock upset spilling forth. "I'll have you know that _I_ am a _big_ boy," he stated proudly. Temari nearly spit her drink and couldn't help but laugh. Sakura snorted and clasped a hand to her mouth to try and stifle her own laughter. Still, Miller continued. "Mother even says so."

"Honestly!" Temari chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye. "And _you're_ my second in command?"

"Come on now," he replied with a wink. "You love me."

Niko shook her head. "Yeah, maybe someone, but not _you_."

"Niko!" Temari scolded, her eyes darting quickly to Sakura before settling on Niko again. There was a sternness to her face as her brow pinched together that clearly screamed _shut up!_

No matter, it was old news to Sakura anyway. To her, at least, it was quite obvious in how they acted around each other and how they tiptoed around asking about the other. Love? No, not yet at least. But she _was_ more enamored by a certain Konoha shinobi than she cared to admit. For now, until her friend was able to outright tell her in her own words, Sakura pretended not to notice.

"So, Sakura," Temari said, quickly trying to divert attention from herself. "Got any hunnys back home helping you study for exams?" She nudged her with an elbow and shot her a wink.

Sakura chuckled and shook her head, a failed attempt to distract from the growing embarrassment on her cheeks. She remembered her conversation with Gaara earlier that day and, consequently, with many people more than a few times before. _What about Sasuke?_ What _about_ Sasuke? _You had said you loved him._ She bit her lip in thought as the table awaited her response. Sasuke was gone, he had been for a long while, and that love for him felt…distant now, like a version of herself that felt unfamiliar. "No," she sighed, looking at the reflections in her drink. "No hunnys for me."

Temari pursed her lips and leaned back in her chair. "I find it hard to believe that there's no one in the medic program that hasn't at _least_ asked you out."

Sakura shrugged. It was true, there had been one or two rather fetching young men that offered her lunch or a small tea after their studies, but she just hadn't felt compelled to agree. There was an eagerness she'd felt in her youth with Sasuke, a yearning for even the shortest moments spent alone with him that she just hadn't felt for any other suiter.

"You're a heart breaker, you know that?" Temari teased, taking a sip from her drink and swirling the ice cubes in her glass.

Niko studied Sakura for a moment and glanced to Miller. They shared a brief look. "Someone else got your attention then?" she asked innocently.

"Clearly," Miller huffed, earning a questioning look from both Sakura and Temari. "It's not just anyone that goes on a lunch date with Gaara."

Sakura went absolutely red in the face as her lips froze shut and her eyes went wide. Temari gasped and quickly shoved him once in the shoulder.

"Miller!" she hissed. "Cut that out!"

" _Date_?" Sakura nearly choked.

Fearing another smack to the arm, he quickly put up his hands in surrender. "Kidding! God," he exclaimed looking to his captain. "It was a joke!"

From across the table, Niko laughed at his misfortune but commended him for having the guts to speak the truth. They'd discussed it previously as he helped her back her things before heading to pick up the girls. Yes; there was indeed something more between their foreign guest and the captain's brother, and yes; it was totally a date. They were just too stubborn – or too dense – to admit it.

Sakura, trying to keep the heat down in her cheeks, took a much-needed drink from her neglected glass. She'd never thought of going to lunch with Gaara as…as a _date_ , and god – of course _he_ never would have. Not in a million lifetimes, she was sure. He was far too busy being talented and accomplished and climbing ranks to be bothered with such things. Plus, she was sure that both of Temari's brother's had grown too handsome for her. The old Kazekage and his wife had produced quite the good looking bunch, after all, and she was still just her usual self.

"Ha ha," Sakura replied with a touch of heavy sarcasm. "Very funny, Miller."

He paused a moment before continuing good-naturedly, trying to gauge how an inkling of the idea settled in her. "But seriously, though," he said looking at her straight. "If you're ever interested, or just wanna have some fun for an evening, I know some guys that would trek all the way to Konoha just for a date with someone like you. No joke."

Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I haven't the time," she replied, trying to joke like she was too proud for such a thing. "Plus, that just sounds desperate."

Miller said nothing but raised his glass to her remark, it was true enough. He downed the rest of his glass and glanced at the time. It was getting late, and regardless of their fun he and Niko still had early mornings. It promised to be a boring day of runs with Temari and Kankuro gone, and Niko was off to her family at first light as well, but he was needed none the less.

"Time to get going?" Niko asked, noting the time as well.

He nodded and sighed. "I'd hate to be a buzz kill but yeah, we should get going."

"Aw," Temari pouted. "You sure?"

"Until next time," he promised as he stood from the table. "Come on, I'll get you guys home."

Temari finished her drink and told him not to bother, they could manage just fine and home was only a radio click away. Sakura thanked him for the night with a hug, Niko as well, and wished them a good night and safe travels respectively. Niko had promised a longer visit the next time she came through, and Miller mentioned something about dinner the following night, or maybe an early breakfast on his way out the door.

As they parted ways down the quiet street, Temari assured him that they would discuss further plans and pointed Sakura in the proper direction home. They snickered to themselves as they strolled down the street, only a few weary souls were still away to shake their heads at them, and they continued to recount the funny remarks and memorable jokes from the evening.

"Thanks for coming along," Temari said in a sigh, linking an arm around Sakura's as she fished through her bag.

Her movement staggered their pace, but Sakura leaned into it and smiled. "Thanks for inviting me."

Pulling out her radio, she switched the receiver on and clicked the channel to life. "Anyone up?" she asked into the mic.

The line was dead for a few long seconds before it cleared again. "Of course," Gaara responded from the other end, his voice a little deadpan.

"We left the bar a few minutes ago, we'll be back soon."

"All right," he replied. "The door's unlocked."

She thanked him and stuffed the radio back into her purse as they rounded a bend in the street. Just a few more blocks, then she could take her shoes off, let her hair down, and dig through the fridge.

"When you come to see me," Sakura said, a quiet hum to her voice. "We'll have to go out with Shikamaru."

"Oh yeah?" Temari responded, trying to sound indifferent though she had answered just a little too hastily.

Nodding, Sakura continued. "He won't often agree to come out for a night," she mused. "But I've got a feeling he would if you were in town." She peeked over to see Temari look away and thin her lips, clearly trying to hold back a smirk.

It was nice, Sakura decided, to see this side of her. Temari had always seemed so mature and so strong, like a role model or a superior more so than a friend. But this, this friendship they had kindled and this openness they shared, it evened them out and displayed them as equals to Sakura. She was still just a young woman trying to balance who she was and who she wanted to be, and even she wasn't immune to infatuations.

Temari shrugged when she looked back at Sakura, her expression passive though her skin seemed to glow in the starlight. "Whatever you want."

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


	9. Installment 4 (3)

Hello, everybody! I'm so happy to be back!

Quick apology for the lengthy time between uploads, I've been plagued with writer's block, lack of motivation, as well as getting caught up in things like work and family. But I missed this site and writing this story so much and, after a long break, I just had to come back to finish this installment. We're almost to the end of Installment 4 and I want to give the sincerest of thank yous to everyone who has stuck with this story from the start and to all those who have joined us somewhere along the way. All of your support and kind words mean so much to me.

I hope you enjoy!

Follow the Sun, Excerpts of Time

Installment 4; Part 3

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

It was morning in the desert, the air was still fresh and crisp, not yet toasted by the rising sun and Sakura breathed deeply the dry, arid scent of the desert before sighing in content. Intoxicating. A smile settled on her lips as she walked in line with Temari, her brothers trailing a few paces behind them. They were off to breakfast, the lot of them stricken with hunger, and were all eager for a freshly made feast. Gaara decided to put off his runs for a while, Temari had insisted and he didn't want to be a disappointment while she entertained a guest, and joined them before he was to set off for the open desert.

"You'll love this place," Temari spoke with confidence, her smile did wonders to lift her tired face in the morning light. "It'll make you feel right at home."

She had only just woken up and had to wake Sakura as well, the long journey had taken its toll and Sakura had slept like a rock straight through the night.

"Do you come here a lot?" Sakura asked, turning to look behind her.

Gaara shrugged and Kankuro nodded. "A bit," he answered. "It's quick and cheap, gotta love that."

"Miller's coming, too, right?" she asked.

Temari nodded in return. "He should be meeting us there, that's what he said at least. I think he actually walked Niko to the gates earlier this morning so he might even beat-"

She was silenced abruptly by a muffled boom in the distance, the low noise hitting the ears unexpectedly along with the faint vibration sliding through the air behind it.

They all stopped in the street, along with everyone else walking with them at this early hour, and turned their heads toward the direction of the noise. Smoke rose above the buildings, somewhere to the northwest and from deeper into the city, and it was black.

"Bomb?" Temari spoke evenly, breaking the short silence between them. She was sure that smoke hadn't been there before. Could she really not have noticed?

"Don't know," Gaara replied, stepping toward the source of the smoke, the sand at his feet feeling for vibrations and clues. There were footsteps in that direction, fast ones, they felt frantic. "Let's go," he said, turning back to his siblings, his eyes resting on Sakura for a moment. "Stay close to them," he instructed.

Sakura nodded, following closely behind them as they took off toward the rising pillar of smoke in the distance.

Gaara wasted no time, and, with a single stride, fell away into the ground beneath his feet. The others would get there soon enough, but he could get there faster.

"It's coming from near the central market," Kankuro observed. "Aren't there quite a few inns in that area as well?"

"Yeah," Temari replied, her brow creased together in thought. "People staying there come from all over, could be anything." She was tempted to reach behind her, to find a comforting grip on the handle of her fan, but she hadn't brought it with her. This was only supposed to be a quick run for breakfast and it seemed unnecessary at the time.

Running through the streets, citizens stopped to leave them an open path and it hadn't taken long for them to find the source of the low boom. A four-story inn had the remnants of its first-floor windows scattered along the sandy ground, fire reaching out to the open air and engulfing the eastern side of the building. Other people were already there, helping residents and workers flee the burning building, and soldiers did their best to quell the blaze.

"I can help," Sakura said to Temari with conviction in her voice, the call to action evoking an automatic and immediate response. "I'll be with the others." She made way to those leaving the building, a good number of them riding a high of panic and adrenaline.

Temari only nodded to her as she and Kankuro went to help all they could with stopping the fire.

"My name is Sakura Haruno," she stated pointedly to the woman who looked most in charge of the situation. "I'm from Konoha and am currently studying under Lady Tsunade. Please, let me help."

The woman nodded, directing her to what looked like a gathering of cooks, some of them cradling their arm to their chest, their clothes covered in dirt and what looked like ash. "Some of the employees have burns," she informed quickly. "You can help Maya. You've treated burns before?"

Sakura nodded, her hands busy pulling her hair up and out of her face. "Not a problem."

She began work on them immediately and took one of the men's arms, his face twisted in pain and his arms shaking. He seemed hurt the most and sucked shallow, pained breaths through his clenched teeth.

"What happened?" she asked as she rolled up a sleeve to reveal a nasty burn. It had begun to weep, a sheen of puss covering the burns, curiously taking the familiar shapes of splash patterns.

He spoke stiffly after a shallow breath, his arms tense under her touch. "Grease fire," he stated, cursing under his breath as she poured diluted alcohol over the wound to wash off the puss and dirt. "And a whole lot of shit to follow."

"Bon," another man muttered, his face gaunt and reflecting the shock in his eyes. "I didn't mean to – I'm sorry –"

He was quickly cut off by an exasperated scoff. "You fuckin' better be!" Bon snapped, causing Sakura to tighten her grip so he'd remain still for her. " _Really_ , Kato?!" The young man in question seemed to deflate, to collapse a little deeper into himself. " _Water_ on a _grease_ fire? Are you insane?"

Sakura peered to the side a moment, she felt a little bad for the guy, knowing how well panic could distort judgment, but held her tongue. Lessons had to be taught somehow.

"I – it just…"

"Save it," Bon seethed, clenching his teeth in pain as Sakura began her healing. "I swear, say one more word and I'll-"

"Focus," Sakura snapped, her eyes – bright with intent and focus of her own – settled hard onto Bon's face. He was riled, in pain, and he seemed ready to turn that anger on her. "Concentrate on your breathing or you'll go faint."

He thinned his lips into a hard line and looked to the side, stifling his fading pain and terror behind deep breaths.

"What about the guests?" Kato asked, his eyes glued to the flames flickering from the first-floor windows, to smoke rising up and choking out the upper floors. "It's so early."

"No one slept through _that_ backdraft," muttered one of the cooks.

Sakura shook her head and spoke evenly. "Everyone will be evacuated, it's under control."

He looked back to her, his gaze resting to the singed arm under her care, and he grimaced. "Thank you," he muttered.

…

They'd almost been too late, and Gaara was still hesitant to say that the building could be saved. He kept a close eye on his sister, without her weapon she could only help settle those gathering outside the burning inn, holding ashy rags to their mouths and coughing in a most sickly way. She wouldn't go into the building, and neither would his brother, and Gaara preferred to keep it that way. Sakura was off with the other medics and he thought them competent enough in her company while she aided in their efforts.

Gaara sent his sand through the open doors and down the smoky hallways, practically able to feel the heat of the fire through his extended senses. Floorboards creaking under the strain of the blaze, the deafening crackle of flames filling the halls, smoldering carpets, and wallpaper curling up from the heat, he saw it all through his mind's eye, felt it all, but he felt no people. There were no cries above the sound of the flames, none that he could hear, and there were no vibrations of footsteps coming from within the inn. It had been burning longer than he'd first thought, and he concluded its evacuation protocol had been followed accordingly. The explosion that brought them here hadn't started the blaze, it was simply a kitchen fire gone wrong and by the time a sudden backdraft blew out the first floor's eastern windows, the inside had already cooked and burned. His only choice was to try and smother the flames and stop the spread of the fire before it took out the lower supports and collapsed the whole structure.

A bead of sweat slid down his brow and he frowned at the heat pouring out from the building, at how the wind seemed to push it all straight at him. A disadvantage, he thought, to have the wind blowing oxygen into the very flames he was trying to smother, and so he thought to change his direction of attack. With a glance back to the crowd of onlookers held at bay by his sister and some choice other faces, he saw his brother with her as well, and Sakura – always easy to spot with her light hair and bright eyes – was still busy with the injured. She wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. His gaze lingered there a moment, only now noticing the circles of fatigue beneath her eyes and the flush she had to her face.

Her spirits had been so high after waking that he hadn't noticed the weariness she must have felt.

Gaara departed with haste to the other side of the building, to block the wind from stoking the flames even higher, and to smother them once and for all. It was better for everyone if he could just stop the fire, then they'd all be off to breakfast and he could get back to his duties.

It wouldn't take long, he was sure of it.

…

"He's the last of them," the head medic said, approaching Sakura after sending her last burn victim on his way. "Thanks for your help."

Sakura nodded, taking a moment to wipe some sweat from her brow. "No problem," she said, turning to face the woman. "Glad I could be of use."

The woman nodded once and spoke with a firm tone of command. "We've got it from here, I suggest you join the other civilians behind the line."

Sakura nodded, once again thanking her for the opportunity to help, and gathered what little she could to help clear the area. The head medic turned from her and busied herself with matters of more importance, the others under her command doing the same, and Sakura was able to breathe easier knowing that everyone had either been tended to or taken for proper treatment in hospital.

Moving to the barrier line holding all the curious citizens at bay, Sakura returned the supplies she'd borrowed and sought to make herself scarce and let the professionals handle things.

"Jori?"

Sakura looked up to the crowd, the voice of a woman catching her off guard.

" _Jori?_ "

A woman paced behind the barrier line, her eyes frantically scanning the crowd. There had been fear in her voice and it was still clear on her face. Over the sound of the crowd, Sakura heard the woman ask for her son, to which someone gestured behind them, to the gathering of guests that had received treatment, but her eyes kept swiveling back to the inn. Even standing at the edge of the fires radiating heat, Sakura felt a chill when that woman's eyes rested on her.

Absolute panic, she could describe it as nothing else.

With her heart clenched in sudden adrenaline, Sakura turned to the closest person within earshot, a soldier passing by with an armful of equipment, and spoke quickly. "I'll be back," she called out, her steps already taking her toward the smoking door. "I'm taking one last look inside."

He began to call back to her but she had already slipped through the smoldering door, a damp rag to her face as she squinted past the smoke and disappeared inside the building. Dropping his armful of supplies, he dashed off to the line to inform the closest ranking officer.

"Captain!" he huffed as he ran up to the head medic.

"What is it?" she asked curtly.

"One of the medics went inside," he said. "Said they were taking another look."

" _What_?" The woman's eyes went wide, looking toward the building crippled by fire. " _Who_?" she demanded. "Which one?

He stuttered a moment, unfamiliar with most of the present medics, and simply stated the truth. "I don't know."

"You there! Get a headcount of the medics," she barked to a passing nurse. The nurse, having come from the hospital a few blocks down, nodded readily and began her rounds through the bustle of people.

"I mean, I _think_ she was a nurse…or something," the man muttered, much to the head medic's disappointment. "I just saw her treating people a while ago."

"Where did she enter the building?"

He turned and pointed off to a door hanging ajar, the top of it slowly breathing smoke into the clean morning air. "That side door over there," he said.

"Damn," she hissed, advancing a step forward, a sort of determination in her eyes. The fire took down an inner wall, the sound of crashing could be heard from the outside, and the medic captain hesitated. "All right," she spoke after a moment's pause. "Go report this to the fire team, they'll need to know someone is still inside if they're trying to-"

"Ma'am!" the nurse called out, she was a few paces away, approaching quickly with a radio clutched in her fist. "I've radioed everyone, they're all accounted for. We've got no medics in the building."

The head medic paused a moment before looking back to the man standing at her side. "Who did you see go in there?" she asked again, her voice was lower this time, more serious and expectant of a clear and concise answer.

The man appeared to fidget slightly under such a hard gaze. "That young girl that was with you," he said. "The one treating the burns, she had, like, purple hair or something?"

"You've to be-" she began to seethe, her lips pressed tight. "Go tell the fire team, _now_!"

…

Sakura took off down the hall, she kept her steps as light as possible as not to disrupt the stability of the structure around her. It was hot, stiflingly so, and she had meant to find a clear path to the lobby but the side door lead her straight into the guest room hallways. The long corridors turned sharply at their end, like a maze to nowhere, a maze quickly filling with smoke, and there was no fire escape routes in view, no maps from which to get her bearings. These inns were set up differently than those back home.

The smoke began to accumulate at the ceiling in a toxic swirling cloud. She could tell she was getting closer to the kitchen, to where the fire had started. Time to find another route. Sakura took a turn toward the adjacent wing, running down the hall and ducking low to avoid the smoke gathering at the ceiling. It was all filling up fast, but she was sure she'd feel some life in here eventually if she could just get close enough-

Something crashed behind her, a startling groan giving way to the sound of collapsing timber. She stopped, looking back at the way she came to the see the bend down the hall glowing with fresh flames.

Shit.

With her heartbeat pounding heavily in her throat and no choice but to press on, Sakura took off once again, watching the numbered suits pass by until a maintenance door caught her attention. Pausing outside the door, she hovered her hand over the metal handle and, sensing no warmth radiating from it, tried her luck turning it.

It turned, clicked, and opened for her.

She breathed a gasp of relief as she rushed herself inside to find not a closet, but a stairwell. It was dark and the light switch didn't seem to work from the loss of power, but it was unburnt. Amazingly, the doors had all been shut and the fire hadn't yet made it through. Sakura took to the stairs and climbed to the second level, pausing only for a moment outside the entrance door before taking a deep breath and pushing it open. There was smoke in the halls up here as well, and Sakura quickly shut the door behind her before shuffling low through the smoke.

She felt it now, that little flutter of life she'd been hoping to find, and she followed it as best she could. A bend in the hallway took her back in the direction of the kitchen, the smoke got thicker, the air was hotter, and that sense she followed only grew stronger. She pressed on, moving slower now, but was shaken by a sudden rumble from beneath her feet. The floor seemed to quiver and the sound of creaking wood and scattering flames filled her ears.

It was Gaara, she knew it was, and the sand he commanded pushed against the weakened walls as it flooded the lower floor. Of course he'd try to smother the flames, she'd expected as much, but she'd hoped for a little more time. The extent of the fire's damage wasn't so visible from the outside, after all, she hadn't known until she rushed in.

"No," Sakura muttered, looking back down the hall from which she'd come, her heart still racing in her chest. "No, I'm in here."

The floor creaked again, sending an even greater sense of urgency to her steps as she desperately searched for the boy, for Jori. When she felt that familiar buzz echoing from behind room 327, she gathered her strength and grabbed the handle, ripping the metal lock from the door and casting it aside. The door swung ajar as she stepped through.

Her eyes scanned the room. "Jori?"

Nothing.

She got low and peered under the beds. No one there. The bathroom door was the next to be warped on its hinges in her haste, and it creaked painfully as it swung out into the wall.

Jori was in the bathtub, the curtain was drawn around him with his slumped silhouette visible through the murky plastic. He jumped at the sound of her abrupt entrance, his wide eyes filled with hollow panic as he pulled the curtain back. He was just a boy, striking Sakura as no more than five or six, he was a scrawny thing too, and his hair was messy with loose, boyish waves.

"Jori?" Sakura questioned. He nodded once, his lips sealed shut in fright. "We have to go, Jori," she stated, saving no time for pleasantries or any sort of bedside manner. Stepping forward, Sakura scooped the boy up in her arms. His size might have made him a precarious passenger, but with a little extra chakra to her muscles, his weight vanished in an instant.

Jori didn't need to be told twice and he held tight to Sakura as she snatched a clean cloth from the bathroom counter. She gave it to him and spoke with a gentle, yet unyielding voice. "Hold this to your mouth, be sure to cover your nose."

He nodded and placed the rag other his mouth, tucking his face into her neck as she secured him in her arms one last time before heading back to the hallway.

The smoke was getting thicker, her visibility diminishing as the minutes ticked by, and her eyes watered as she strained to keep them open. Her pace was faster down the hallways than it had been before, the door the maintenance room was waiting at the end of the long hall if she could just-

The floor groaned, something sagged under her feet, and quick thinking told her to jump back. She landed with a hard thud, Jori clutched tightly in her arms, and scooted back from a fresh hole burning through the carpet at her feet. The floor had given out below her, the flames were reaching higher.

"The first floor is in bad shape," she said softly to him as she stood and gained safe distance from the burning carpet. Jori clutched her shirt in his small hands. "But I know where we can go to be safe."

"Outside?" he said, his voice cracking with a sudden hopefulness.

Sakura hesitated. "Maybe…but for now," she said as she shifted most of his weight to one arm and held her own damp rag to her mouth. "Hold on tight. I'm gonna jump."

She took several strong strides toward the burning hole and jumped from the floor where she felt the supports would still be able to hold her weight. The smoke burned her eyes as they flew through it, and she readied herself to toss Jori in case the landing sent her slipping to the fiery floor below.

But her landing was hard, the wood beneath her feet was solid, and she took off again down the hall.

The maintenance door was in sight now and every step brought it closer to her reach. She clutched the handle and spun herself inside, breathing deeply the fresher air of the stairwell.

She put Jori down and wiped some sweat from his face. "Take deep breaths, we're fine," she reassured him. "Wait here. I'm gonna look out that door."

Just down the flight, the first-floor entrance remained unburnt but Sakura wondered about the state of the building beyond it. The way in which she'd come had been quickly blocked by collapsing timber and open flames, any other route out of here was just a shot in the dark, but there had to be a safe way out.

She glanced up at Jori.

There _had_ to be.

Sakura rounded the landing, pausing for a moment as a rumbling sound echoed through the stairwell. Accompanying the rumble was the familiar feeling of power, raw and unbridled, and it was coming toward them. She hesitated on the stairs, a sudden surge violently passing by the door in front of her and, within an instant of its arrival, a wave of sand had broken through the doorway.

It spilled into the small landing, swirling with a ferocity that Sakura hadn't seen up close for quite some time. Her heart skipped a beat and she took a few quick steps up the stairs as the sand quickly rose.

"What _is_ that?" Jori cried out in shock. He was peering through the railings, his eyes fixated on the way the sand moved with confusion and fright.

Sakura held out a calming hand to him. "It's okay," she said with a soft smile. "It's not dangerous."

She looked back toward the swirling sand, gazing at it in sweet relief with that smile still stuck to her face. Taking a step down, she reached for the writhing waves. If she could just touch it, she was sure he'd sense it, she was positive he'd know it was her.

…

"I understand, sir, but that is not of importance at the m-"

"Of course it is!" the man spat. Temari grimaced and resisted the urge to sock him in the face. "My belongings are my livelihood, I've got thousands worth in merchandise in there. Someone has to go retrieve-"

Kankuro stepped up behind his sister. "Your _life_ is your livelihood, don't you think?" he grumbled. "Get your shit insured next time."

Temari rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples. Her hunger was getting her to, to her brother as well, and they prayed for an end to the torment of crowd control. A sense of duty could be a very burdening thing at times.

"There's someone inside?"

Temari and Kankuro glanced over to a pair of men working the crowd. They were speaking quietly to each other, but they stood well within earshot.

"Yeah, I heard the medic captain going off about it. One of the nurses or something went inside, that transfer I think."

"Transfer?"

She and her brother shared a quizzical look.

"Yeah, I heard the captain say she's from Konoha or something?"

Kankuro sucked a sharp breath between his teeth, his steps taking him urgently to the two men. They turned to face his approach. "What?" he hissed. "Did you hear if they told the fire captain?"

They shrugged as Kankuro turned back to his sister.

Her eyes were wide, shocked at the sudden news, and she was searching through the faces of the crowd for her friend. " _Shit_!" she seethed as she dashed off.

"Temari?" Kankuro called out, following after her.

"Gaara's got his sand in there," she yelled back. "Someone needs to tell him!"

…

Sakura cried out from the sudden pain and recoiled her hand, holding it to her chest as she fell back on the steps. " _Shit_ ," she cursed under her breath, doing her best to keep her hand from Jori's view. She could instantly feel warm blood flow from her palm as the fresh slice began to pulse and flare with a deep ache.

 _He cut me…_

…

Gaara stood frozen, the unexpected sensation of blood on his sand was not a thing to go unnoticed with him. He suddenly realized that there had indeed been someone left inside and, what's worse, he knew at that very moment exactly who it was.

Something clenched tight in his chest, constricting his heart and painfully clogging his throat.

 _What is this?_

His eyes fixated on the smoking building before him, the crackling flames sounding even louder now, the quickening pace of his heart straining in his chest. How had she gotten inside? What could she possibly be doing? She was bleeding, she must have been hurt. Was there…was there even a way out now?

 _Oh, that's right, it's fear_.

The stillness of his sand lasted only a moment before kicking up in a frenzy. There was a surge of urgency that drove each grain to satisfy his bidding, a newfound determination that had him taking quick steps to close the distance between him and the building.

"Gaara!"

His sister was calling to him, and he thought he saw a man running alongside her, but they would have to wait.

The sand swirled around him, ripping apart his physical form and sending what remained into the burning building. He knew where she was, he could feel her pulse, could practically taste her blood, and he would swiftly retrieve her.

…

Glancing down to her palm, Sakura flexed her hand around the slice, hardly able to believe she'd actually been cut and winced from the coarse grains stuck to her exposed flesh. The sand had been sharp but the cut wasn't clean and it hurt, a lot.

Only then did she notice that all around her the sand was frozen. The floor stopped swirling, the grains in the air hovered in an alien sort of stillness, and even those stained with her blood still lay on the steps before her. It was like everything had quieted in an instant.

"What's it doing?" Jori asked with a shake in his voice.

Sakura shook her head, bringing a hand up to the air to touch the grains that floated there. She nudged them with her fingertips, watching as they stirred and drifted listlessly away from her. They did not fall, they only hung there in the air, suspended on the whims of some unseen force.

 _How bizarre_.

Then all at once, so suddenly that she yelped in surprise, the sand flared to life once again. It swirled into a vortex that had her shielding her eyes and it hummed with a curious vibration, a sort of pressure that quickly grew stronger and heavier until-

"Are you _mad_?!"

From the fury of the grains, a hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, the grip so tight she felt it unshakable.

Sakura looked up to raging dust devil, a devil that Gaara quickly and abruptly emerged from. She hesitated a moment, thrown by the sound of his voice and the expression on his face. His words were harsh, angry, and yet there was such a conflicted look of distress on his face. "Gaara."

Glancing to her wounded palm, Gaara thinned his lips into a tight scowl, his jaw clenched. Without a word, he pulled her close, the arm around her waist holding her with more force than she was accustomed.

"Wait," she began, attempting to step away from him when she felt the familiar fuzziness of the sand breaking her down.

Gaara did not want to wait, not another moment, and he chose not to hear her over his own thoughts of self-analytical regret.

What could he have done differently? When did he make the wrong decision this morning?

"Wait!" she snapped, yanking her wrist from his grasp and pushing her hands against his chest. This gained his full attention, gained her a moment's pause to look behind her and up the stairwell. "Jori!"

Gaara looked up the stairs, following her gaze to the young boy crouched behind the spindles of the railing. Small hands clutched the metal bars, knuckles white and hands quivering in fear. He felt his heart drop and, even in the heat of the stairwell cooking by fire, he felt a sickly chill. Calling off the sand, he let the swirling vortex drop the floor.

"Where was he?" Gaara asked through the sudden tightness in his throat. There's no way he could have missed him.

"He was hiding in his bathroom, second floor," Sakura said. She stepped away from Gaara, intending to retrieve Jori. "Come on, we have to go." She climbed the stairs to him and held out her uninjured hand.

"They said everyone was evacuated," Gaara insisted. Who didn't do their job?

 _You didn't_.

He broke a small grimace before he looked away and clenched a tight fist around his thumb, squeezing until it popped, his heart pounding in time with that demon's loathsome cackles. "How did you know?" he asked after a moment, his voice was quieter, and his gaze never lifted to her.

Sakura glanced over to him, the heavy pressure of his power had given way to something distorted and murky. It struck her heart and her gut with an uncomfortable ache. She didn't like it. "I saw his mom looking for him outside," she said, her breathing a little heavier now.

Jori couldn't feel it, he wasn't able to feel those uneven rhythms against his chest, or feel them interrupt his own. But he could see blood on her hand, blood she had smeared onto the shoulder of his shirt. "You said it wasn't dangerous."

Unable to help it, Gaara winced at those quivered words. _Damn_ … That beast's laugh could be painfully deafening, but it wasn't as painful as that punch to the gut.

Sakura shook her head. "It's not," she said quietly, offering a gentle smile to the boy. "That was just my silly mistake."

Gaara swallowed hard, his gaze suddenly fixed to the clenched hand held up to her chest, to the thin trail of red running down her wrist. So it had been him. His lips thinned into a grimace. How could he have hurt her? _Again_?

Sakura took the boy's hand and pulled him up. "Let's find your mom."

Jori climbed into her secure hold, his arms clutching tightly around her with his face buried in her neck.

She stepped down the stairs and stood before Gaara. "Let's go," she said evenly, her composure gaining a more positive response from him in this moment of haste. "If you close your eyes," Sakura muttered to the young boy in her arms. "We'll be outside in no time."

She had felt Gaara's sudden upset as plainly as she had seen it on his face. The way those waves of energy rolled off of him now, it wasn't like what she had grown used to. This was unstable in fluctuation, overwhelming, and it hurt. It was heavy, too, weighing greatly on her heart and chest, and it pained her. She couldn't begin to understand the course of emotions like these, the uncertainty and distrust placed under the constant misguidance of malevolence, and the intensity of what they bore was so difficult to imagine.

The last thing she wanted to do was escalate things for him, so instead, she leaned a shoulder into him as he called upon his sand once again. But, before the darkness of that void opened up around them, she looked up to him with a worried sort of expression. Remembering what it was like to become engulfed by that darkness at first, remembering the sensation of that beast through every part of her scattered being, she wondered what would become of someone as inexperienced and weak of spiritual will as Jori.

Gaara only placed a hand atop the boy's head, his fingers resting in those messy waves. He wouldn't let that happen, not with a boy so young and so frightened.

After all, those malevolent claws only dug into his own heart and soul. Those predatory teeth only ate away at his consciousness and sanity. Only he could hear that cackling in his mind, could hear those demeaning whispers and retched temptations. They were incredible burdens to bear, but they were his and his alone.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×


End file.
